The Young and the Restless Hits Ratings Milestone

Last week, The Young and the Restlesscelebrated its 24th year at the top of the daytime drama ratings, The Associated Pressreports.

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The feat is something to celebrate despite the current decline of daytime dramas. When Young and the Restless premiered in 1973, there were 13 soaps on air, but only four remain today. Y&R averaged 4.4 million viewers last week.Though The Young and the Restless is the only soap to see a decline in viewership this year, its ratings still trump those of runner-up The Bold and The Beautiful and General Hospitaland Days of Our Lives, which rank third and fourth, respectively.

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"It's definitely not something that we take for granted," Angelica McDaniel, senior vice president of daytime for CBS, told the AP. The soap, which follows the exploits of the people of Genoa City, features such mainstays as Jeanne Cooper, Eric Braeden, Melody Thomas Scott and Peter Bergman. McDaniel credits the series' relevant storytelling and multigenerational characters as key to Young and the Restless' success.What's your favorite soap opera?