Y&R: Mal Young Gone, Who Might Return?!

'Young and the Restless’: Mal Young Gone – Who Might Come Back – Paul, Ashley, Even Hilary?Young and the Restless fans were thrilled when Mal Young was fired. Now the looming question is who will come back to the CBS soap now he’s gone? Longtime viewers have a laundry list of characters they want back that the Brit director sidelined during his ill-fated reign. While it might be hard to bring back some that he killed, others could more easily return to rebuild the beloved soaps many Y&R fans no longer recognize.

Young and the Restless – Bring Back Paul Williams First?

Y&R watchers were outraged that Doug Davidson was ushered out as Genoa City Police Chief Paul Williams with no fanfare. We reported on the actor’s reaction to his firing and his frustration with production issues. Victor Newman portrayer Eric Braeden tweeted his outrage at what happened to his co-worker as did others.

Now with Mal Young out of the picture, it would be very easy to bring back Paul Williams as the Head honcho at the GCPD. They can explain he was away at a training seminar, consulting with the FBI, or on vacation. It’s easy enough and fans would love it. Doug Davidson could be back to The Young and the Restless in a snap – let’s hope the new showrunner makes it happen!

Neil Winters and Noah Newman Should be Back to Genoa City!

Young and the Restless viewers are tired of hearing what Neil Winters (Kristoff St John) is doing while he’s out of town and missing from Genoa City. There is no reason for him to be gone. Especially with the current plot with his son Devon Hamilton (Bryton James) struggling with his grief and loss.

  

As for Noah Newman (Robert Adamson), he was back for a moment when Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) was at death’s door. But otherwise, Noah Newman has been gone for no reason. This was all part of the dismantling of legacy families that ran rampant under Mal Young’s reign at the CBS soap.

Ashley Abbott – Easy Rewrite Could Bring Her Back to Y&R!

Another role that would be easy to get back on Young and the Restless would be Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson). She is in Europe competing with Jabot. Her exit was so poorly written and out of character that it would be easily undone. Ashley could say she snapped from the stress of Dina Mergeron’s (Marla Adams) illness and temporarily lost it.

Eileen Davidson was rumored to have left because of the misogyny backstage at Y&R. If Mal Young’s exit took that negativity with him, then maybe she’d be willing to come back on contract. As she left it, Eileen said she would only be back as Ashley Abbott for special events. But with Mal Young gone, that might change everything from her perspective.

Resurrect Hilary – Free Lily on Young and the Restless

Something a little messier would be bringing back Hilary Curtis (Mishael Morgan). However, it’s a soap and faked deaths are commonplace. The new head writer Josh Griffith worked at Days of Our Lives where resurrections are a constant. So for him to write Hilary Curtis coming back after faking her death is right in his wheelhouse.

If she’s not dead, then Lily Ashby (Christel Khalil) could get out of jail ASAP. Her family is falling apart. Mal Young wrote on this week’s Young and the Restless a scene with Cane Ashby (Daniel Goddard) making out improbably with Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle). Her return would stop the insanity of Mal trying to tear apart yet another Genoa City family.

Where Are Gloria Bardwell and Kevin Fisher?

Other characters missing from the fabric of GC are Gloria Bardwell (Judith Chapman) and her son Kevin Fisher (Greg Rikaart). Mal Young had Kevin leave town with Chloe Mitchell (Elizabeth Hendrickson) to raise her daughter. He came back for sketchy stuff, but has basically been ejected from the show. However, at least Kevin had an exit story unlike his mother.

The ever-fab Glo simply disappeared from the desk outside Jack Abbott’s (Peter Bergman) door. There’s a random dude in her place that they keep popping up here and there, but he’s a dud compared to Gloria Bardwell. The new Young and the Restless regime could easily plop Glo right back at her desk seamlessly and bring tons of personality back to the Jabot offices.

Can We Just Unwind All of Mal Young’s Awful Changes to Y&R?

Rather than tweaking one plot at a time, maybe the new showrunner and head writer can just totally undo what Mal Young did to the CBS soap. Ratings are down, viewers are angry, legacy families are destroyed. So why not dismantle what he did completely? Remember on prime time soap Dallas back in the 80s?
Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) came out of the shower and unwound his death and an entire season of the show. Viewers were outraged at the time but in the case of Mal Young’s rampant destruction of Young and the Restless, it could be great. Victor Newman could wake from a dream and it could be like 2016-2018 of sloppy writing never happened.Wouldn’t that be a grand New Year for Y&R? As it is, we can expect to see another month (give or take) of Mal Young’s work before the new writer’s stories take effect. Hopefully, then we will see some beloved familiar faces return to Young and the Restless if the new regime realizes just how much damage Mal Young did while in control of the show! Watch Y&R weekdays on CBS to see what’s next.