Eric Braeden on the State of The Young and the Restless: "Don’t Try to Reinvent the Wheel"
The Young and the Restless' Eric Braeden (Victor Newman) isn't mincing words when it comes to his thoughts regarding the show. While Y&R is currently down from production due to the coronavirus pandemic, Braeden has been like viewers of the show, tuning into the classic episodes that are currently being rebroadcasted. The actor spoke with Soap Opera Digest to give his take on watching them and what he thinks is the best formula is to make a great show and storytelling.
Braeden stated,
I’ll give you the thoughts very simply: Bill Bell allowed no one to come in and interfere with what he did. No one. He was the man, and the results were wonderful. He was the driving force behind this. The driving conflict at Y&R is the Newmans versus the Abbotts, so don’t forget about it. It doesn’t happen very often that you have a confluence of the appropriate writer, the appropriate actors. Don’t forget about that! Don’t ignore it. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel.
That’s all I have to say about that, and seeing the old shows reminded me of that. Do I miss it? Yeah, I miss working with the people I respect, miss seeing the crew. So yes, of course, there’s something about the routine I miss a lot. Maurice is right in that regard. But the repercussions of this [pandemic] are so extraordinary, of course, one thinks about it all the time. I did something on Facebook and close to 700,000 people reacted to it, something paying respect to those who sacrifice their lives every day. They are heroes, the doctors and nurses and janitors working in our hospitals. It is extraordinary, what these people do, knowing full well they could catch this bloody thing at any time.
Is Braeden ready to get back to work? The Emmy Award-winning actor discussed whether or not he'll return back to set if CBS and Y&R gives the okay while still in the midst of a pandemic. Braeden stated,
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It would be very irresponsible on my part to say, 'Oh, we’ll do this when we got back to work,' because we don’t know enough about the ways of this virus. I mean, it’s a vicious son of a bitch. I think I will be willing to go back to work if some provisions are met, serious provisions are met. You have the crew with masks on, you have people in the booth with masks on but somebody always wiping things down, you have continuous tests …
I think it can be done. You have distancing of the actors when they perform. I’m willing to risk it, no question. And then you have to obviously sign a release to corresponding studios or whatever that you will not sue them if you fall victim to the coronavirus. So, given the proper provisions, yeah, I’m willing to come back.
