The Young and the Restless is set to become the second American soap opera to resume production, with producers of the CBS series reportedly eyeing a restart date of Monday, July 6.
Deadline reports that the powers that be from Y&R have sent a letter to the cast and crew of the long-running drama, notifying them of a tentative plan to restart production on that date. However, as with any plans during the COVID-19 pandemic, the July 6 date remains a goal only, as the conditions of the pandemic change daily.
Y&R producers have reportedly been eyeing its sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful, as an example of how to possibly get back to filming. As Soap Central previously reported, B&B returned to production last Wednesday -- becoming the first scripted U.S. television program to do so -- but had to hit pause just one day later to work on its coronavirus testing protocols. B&B's experience is being used by producers at Y&R as they hone in on their own safety guidelines.
Some of the safety protocols that B&B has implemented include limiting the number of people allowed into the studio, staggering work times, and cutting down on the number of performers in scenes. The show's head writer and executive producer, Brad Bell, also said that actors' real-life loved ones and dummies might serve as stand-ins to prevent interaction between performers.
The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful suspended production in mid-March amid an industrywide production shutdown due to the pandemic. Both soap operas ran out of original episodes at the end of April and began airing throwback episodes curated into theme weeks.
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