14 DAY TRIAL // Michael Muhney, who played Adam Newman on the hit soap opera “The Young and the Restless” for years, was fired in a very controversial move last December, with his final episode airing in January. Since then, fans have been leaving the show in droves, with more taking to dedicated forums daily to announce they’ll be boycotting the soap unless Muhney comes back.
All these fans got a healthy helping of “hope” over the weekend, when word got out that Muhney had been spotted on the “Young and the Restless” set again, though what exactly he was doing there hasn’t been revealed just yet.
Still, as you might imagine, having him back on set after he was let go in such an unceremonious fashion (allegedly, of course), could only mean one thing: he’s been asked back and he’s already accepted to reprise his role.
CBS has issued a statement to say that “We don’t comment on rumors or contract status,” which was to be expected. Networks never comment on ongoing negotiations, even at those times when a confirmation would be redundant because all the details of the deal are already out there.
So this isn’t what’s getting fans so excited, but rather the fact that Muhney or his people are not denying the rumors. They’re not confirming them either and, in showbiz, not denying something is almost as good as confirming it.
Muhney tweeted this shortly after the rumors of his return emerged online:
RT @JBrooklyn44: @michaelmuhney Are you really BACK? <I'VE ALWAYS BEEN RIGHT HERE. :)
— Michael Muhney (@michaelmuhney) May 30, 2014
Since then, pandemonium has taken over dedicated forums and social media, with countless fans rushing to express their joy at his return, probable as it might be. So far, we have received over 29 comments on the original article from Saturday, with the majority of fans saying they would tune in for the soap opera once more if he came back, having stopped doing so when he was fired.
An older rumor claimed that producer Jill Farren Phelps had finally realized her mistake in firing Muhney when she saw ratings for the soap drop and the negative buzz online. The golden rule in television is that you should never antagonize the very people you’re trying to cater entertainment to, and this is what Phelps achieved in firing Muhney, especially since the announcement didn’t come with a proper explanation.
Phelps’ job is in danger now, as network bosses warned that it was up to her to come up with something to improve ratings and fix the wrong she caused. Admittedly, she went to Muhney and “begged” him to come back but he initially told her no, presumably because he’d been too hurt by the way his departure had been handled.
Now that he’s been spotted on set again, fans believe that he’s had a change of heart or, as some fans been urging Phelps for a while, that she gave him “everything he ask[ed] for.”
Assuming Muhney returns to the soap opera, CBS would better explain what prompted his firing in the first place if they want fans to forget the injustice done to their favorite actor. As of now, there are two major theories on that: one that he was let go for allegedly groping / harassing co-star Hunter king, and one saying he somehow tried to “replace” show veteran Eric Braeden.
Because of the amount of conflicting reports, all of them unconfirmed, fans don’t know what and who to believe and, after years of supporting the soap opera and thus making it a true television event, they deserve better than this.