14 DAY TRIAL // Since December, CBS and the producers of “The Young and the Restless” have been under serious fire from upset fans, over the decision to let Michael Muhney go, after he played Adam Newman on the soap opera since 2009. The network is now struggling to find a replacement for Muhney.
In other words, Adam Newman is not dead, despite what was shown in Muhney’s final episode, which aired on January 30. This confirms that, in soap opera universe, it’s hard to kill someone off, no matter how certain their death might seem at first sight.
If you haven’t been keeping up with the drama around the hit show, it started in December, when Muhney was let go. He broke the news to fans but wouldn’t say what had prompted this decision on part of the network; weeks later, rumor broke that he had harassed and groped co-star Hunter King, who complained to the brass and asked that he be fired.
Speculation had it from the start that CBS might simply replace Muhney as Adam with some other actor, even if most fans argued that this was the only thing worse than writing the character off completely.
Radar Online says that this is precisely what’s happening behind closed doors at CBS right now: producers are looking for a Muhney replacement, having decided that they will only chose someone who isn’t as much trouble as Michael was.
“There are active auditions going on to replace Michael Muhney’s character as Adam Newman. Producers haven’t found the best actor yet to fill the role. It’s important that the role be filled by someone the audience will grow to love,” the spy reveals.
“There are storylines being written about Adam and the character is central to the show. One thing is certain, the next actor that will portray Adam Newman, won’t have the ego or chip on the shoulder that Michael had,” adds the spy.
While reports say it was the harassment of King that got Muhney fired, there are also insiders who claim it was his diva behavior that got him in trouble. In part, these reports stem from an interview Eric Braeden (aka Victor Newman) gave, saying that Muhney had been out to get him from day one in a classic case of “young lion” goes after the “old lion.” He also said Muhney was unprofessional and demanding, almost impossible to work with.
If that was ever the case, it makes sense for producers to be looking for someone who is the exact opposite, but someone who will also enjoy the same kind of popularity as Muhney.
“If there is even a hint of diva behavior, or drama, the role won’t go to that person. Period. Everyone wants to move on from that disaster,” the source continues.
This said, until producers find that perfect someone, tell us which you’d prefer: to have Adam Newman played by another actor than Muhney, or to have the character dead for good?