Sharon Newman is one of the most popular characters on The Young and the Restless. She’s up there with Victor, Nikki, and Jack in terms of being beloved by the audience. Almost every pairing Y&R puts Sharon in gains fans thanks to this fanbase and portrayer Sharon Case being a chemistry magnet. Yet if you tuned into the show lately with zero soap knowledge, you’d just think Sharon was the nice lady who served coffee in designer clothes while listening to the “important” characters’ tales of woe. I am beyond fed up with this treatment. It needs to stop.
Pass Around Talk-To
It is a soap tradition to use older characters who were lead characters in their heyday as talk-tos for younger characters. It gives the audience the familiarity of a veteran character while also boosting the story of the younger character. Days has used Maggie in this capacity for years. It is the circle of life for soap characters over the age of 65. Not a popular character who is canonically 40-something.Â
It is just irksome to turn on Y&R and see Sharon get the Auntie treatment. She is just chained to that coffee shop, pouring coffee and using that psychology degree to give out free advice. Sharon is a vibrant character with multiple connections to the canvas. Her purpose on the canvas should not be giving pep talks in between upselling customers a cupcake. It is insulting to Sharon Case and the viewers.
I understand that even lead characters go through periods of being backburned. Phyllis existed as a glorified day player after Michelle Stafford returned and didn’t become a leading character again until Diane’s return from the dead. I just expect stronger material even if you are going to use Sharon in a supporting capacity. Mariah and Tessa are trying to adopt a baby. They could have written Sharon taking a more active role in that. Noah’s ex-girlfriend Audra is sniffing around him. Sharon could be telling that obvious schemer to stay away from her son.
I do think the reason for Sharon being treated like a talk-to is that head writer and now sole executive producer Josh Griffith is uninterested in the character. Even Sharon’s cancer story was underwritten and Sharon Case still got that man a Daytime Emmy since voters judge based on the episode and not a script. Josh is more interested in writing Billy excusing Chelsea raping him than writing actual material for Sharon. It is shameful.Â
Will The Real Widow Please Stand Up?
This year had Sharon losing her husband Rey to a heart attack. Sharon Case did beautiful work in the scenes where her character learned of Rey’s death. I expect the show will submit that episode for Best Writing and/or Best Drama. Yet after that Y&R treated Chelsea like she was Rey’s widow. Her feelings about Rey’s death took center stage and Sharon’s grief was treated like she was mourning a second cousin who she had last seen in 2006. Chelsea had never seen Rey’s dong, and she even poisoned him once, but that didn’t stop Josh Griffith from writing it like she was the most affected person.
Taking a story that should be about one character and giving it to another character is sadly common practice in soaps. GH fans are still upset they made the return of Elizabeth’s rapist all about Franco and not Elizabeth. Writers don’t realize (or care) that this type of propping just leads to resentment. There was a way to write Chelsea being impacted by Rey’s death without diminishing Sharon’s grief. If a writer really wants to have the audience like their preferred character, it is just common sense not to take away from the actual fan favorite.
Same Script, Different Cast
Y&R is currently toying with the idea of pairing Sharon with Chance. I should be excited for anything that would get Sharon out of the Auntie zone, but I am skeptical. This would be the third time Sharon has been paired with the good guy cop archetype. First, there was Dylan who left to be in witness protection. Then, we had Rey who acted like Sharon’s daddy and not in a sexy roleplaying way before he croaked. What would make this pairing different? The only things that make Chance different from the other two are that he was born on screen and he’s younger.Â
What would the conflict be for Sharon and Chance? They could use age since Sharon was a young mother when Chance was played by chubby teen Penn Badgley. However, that would require the show to be willing to acknowledge age differences in relationships. They won’t even recognize that Nick is currently dating a woman who is his daughter’s age. Even if Y&R were willing to go there with the age gap discussion, Chance’s jizz only exists to be cleaned up with a cheap towel and can’t get anyone pregnant, and Sharon’s uterus is closed for business. Not much of a conflict there.Â
They could continue the conflict that Chance had with Abby in that he was so devoted to work that she felt neglected. Though I think that would fall flat with Sharon. She’s used to cop schedules. If Chance were off on a stakeout, she’d be fine at home. She wouldn’t be looking out the window in a nightie being ever so lonesome without her man. She’d be watching women yelling over nothing on Real Housewives and eating Cheez-Its. It made sense for Abby to resent Chance’s work. They had a kid at home and he also abandoned her for the entire pregnancy. Sharon is in a different stage of her life.
The only conflict I could see being good soap is bringing Chance’s mother Nina back. I don’t think Nina would like Chance dating Sharon. It would be fun to have Nina being a bitch to Sharon and Sharon giving it right back. It has been a while since they’ve had Sharon being rivals with a woman. They write Sharon as too nice to women who she should hate. Chelsea assaulted Sharon with a coffeepot and poisoned her husband, but Sharon is kind to that woman. I want her in situations where she isn’t saintly, and I think Sharon Case and Tricia Cast would work fabulously as rivals.
Stories Being Left On The Table
Sharon has plenty of story potential that isn’t being used. We’ve never met Sharon’s father. We don’t even know his name. All we know is that he walked out on Doris when Sharon was young. What has Sharon’s father done in the decades since then? Does he have other kids? He is a blank slate just waiting for a writer to fill it in. He could be a con man or have his own business. He could be a sociopath or a repentant alcoholic. They have many different paths to take if they’d just make the choice to tell the story.
Another story being left on the table is Sharon being a therapist. They had her go to college and get that psychology degree and all she does with it is listen to people’s problems at Crimson Lights. Why not have Sharon be a practicing therapist? They have that little office set for when Billy used to go to therapy. I think people would prefer to watch Sharon as a therapist in an official capacity and not just as the unpaid and unofficial therapist of Genoa City.Â
If they don’t want Sharon to be a therapist, they could have her run for mayor. That’s a great job for a veteran character who is also the moral center of the show. Laura on GH and Abe on Days becoming mayor felt natural. Sharon becoming mayor could give her more opportunities to mix in the business sphere of the show. Newman Enterprises could do a real estate project that displaces low-income citizens and Sharon could oppose it leading her into conflict with Victoria. Genoa City could be attacked by ransomware which is a problem that real cities have had to deal with sadly.Â
I just want Sharon Case’s talent to be used to its full potential. She’s given it her all during her tenure on this show, even during some very shoddy writing. Did she phone it in when Maria Arena Bell had bitches falling into paper mache volcanoes in front of her? No. Even when Sharon was given the ultimate character assassination of marrying her former father-in-law Victor, she still gave it 100%. Make an effort to utilize her. Just because Sharon Case is a turn-shit-into-sugar actress doesn’t mean you have to hand her shit.Â
Dispatches From Soap Land
*Rory on GH was always the Raisin Bran option in the triangle with Trina and Spencer, but the show could have given him a bit more rooting value. Michael Blake Kruse was a bit stiff, but all they wrote for Rory was that he was a nice guy and he knew where the vending machines were. That’s it. Now Rory is in heaven drinking Mountain Dew and hopefully Trina and Spencer can become a couple before we all die in a climate change disaster.
*Why would Bill on B&B help Sheila? Bill isn’t the most moral person, but I don’t think Brooke and Katie declining to suck his dick would have him helping a sociopath who shot the mother of his granddaughter.
*It is unfortunate that we only have a few more months of Zach Tinker being on Days. He was a great Sonny recast. Though it is a comfort that Colton Little and Christopher Sean will likely be on the main show in 2023.Â
I LOVE Sharon, but her lack of story hasn’t really bothered me. She has generally over the years had front burner stories and it made sense she was ‘low key’ after Rey’s death. It’s been a year now, so it’s time to remover the ‘Aunt Liz’ way she’s being written and start a new story.
I do wish though Alan, you would write about the Y & R characters that audiences love who NEVER get story. It’s clear JG isn’t a huge Sharon fan, but really no one has gotten much story this past year except Billy, Adam and sometimes Victoria. Almost everyone, even Nick, Lily and Sally basically revolve around these three. Diane drives story, but not sure for who yet. She’s made Jack, Phyllis and most of the those in her story look like idiots. Even Kyle is only getting minimal screentime from his mother’s return.
Beth Maitland is criminally underused, so is Tracey B and Jess Walton. All are capable of driving story if cared about by the writers. Beth and Tracey have not quite hit your ’65’ mark.
Almost the entire cast but a handful is ignored unless they can prop the few favorites. It’s tiring. Characters I once loved, (Billy the most, but also Adam and Victoria) I now can’t stand as they’ve been pushed into story after story without any real direction.
excellent article. totally agree with everything you say and have suggested as potential story lines! Thank you for this. hope YR and show runner listens.
Thank you for making me LOL with the paper mache and other lines. Much needed right now and the entire article was spot on!
Stupid person who is making all the women wear off shoulder, missing sleeve clothes and they all look alike. Who would dress like that to work in a coffee house. All those fancy rich women would NOT dress alike. Normal women don’t dress everyday like that.
I like your ideas, you have much more originality than what is happening currently in Genoa City. There needs to be a handsome newcomer patron who stops for coffee who could be a match for Sharon.
I like Sally, but like all women in that town, doesn’t she ever dress down in her sweats when she just chilling out? Workplaces are casual now, so why do the wealthy business owners still wear suits and dresses? These days, it’s golf shirts and khakis.
I would like to see the writers turn Sharon’s story line into a professional psychiatrist vs advising auntie and coffee shop owner. Marlena on Days brought value to the show and depth to the character. But please style Sharon’s stringy hair!
I would like to see the writers turn Sharon’s story line into a professional psychiatrist vs advising auntie and coffee shop owner. Marlena on Days brought value to the show and depth to the character. But please style Sharon’s stringy hair!