The Young and the Restless spoilers document that photos have been posted of Sharon (Sharon Case) and Adam (Michael Muhney) appearing in an outdoor scene during Thanksgiving week. Social media channels naturally exploded as Y&R’s one-time power couple hadn’t been on-camera in awhile. But what does this mean for Genoa City and it’s fans?
Okay, full-disclosure, so Case plays a character named Sharon and Muhney played a character named Adam on CBS’ daytime steamer. So, has a decision been made that will allow Shadam to be resurrected?
Shadam became one of Y&R’s sizzling duos earlier this decade, as soap opera supporters know. Many fans who loved that pairing have remained hopeful that Case and Muhney will be able to collaborate again. That’s why social media photos, like the one Case posted of herself and Muhney during his visit to her home a day before Thanksgiving, offer support to the bring-back-Michael-Muhney-as-Adam-Newman cause.
Savvy actors, like Case and Muhney, understand that direct connections with fans, which bypass entertainment employers, allow them to sustain their own brands. Both people also know that light-hearted photos, as have been posted in the past by these off-screen friends, wink at the audience in a heartfelt way.
Personal images are intended to give viewers a glimpse at the real lives of public figures. Of course, interpretations regarding Case and Muhney’s hope to work together again on Y&R are also implied in this instance.
Muhney was removed from the cast by former executive producer Jill Farren Phelps a few days before Christmas in December 2013. That development wasn’t detailed by either side. Plenty of room for conjecture was left and has been applied ever since by naturally curious fans.
In the old days Y&R fans would have spoken to their friends on a landline phone, or in person (remember doing that?) instead of using a computer and the internet to share their thoughts with the world.
Those who believed they knew it all about Phelps, Muhney, Y&R, employment decisions, employee choices, the price of a latte at Crimson Lights in Genoa City or whatever all weighed in, heavily at times. Much, if not all slanted views of were eviscerated in 2014, when Muhney publicly acknowledged that his on-set behavior had been off-putting. He praised Phelps, didn’t blame his employer and stated that he wanted to return to the show again.
Y&R proved that Muhney was eligible for re-hire, thereby confirming that nothing illegal happened in the workplace, when it interviewed him in the summer of 2014. Justin Hartley also interviewed and was hired instead. He went on to produce a solid two-year run, where he offered a different take on the Adam character.
So why was the headline to this feature purposely written? Well, to prove a point. It teased that Sharon and Adam had been filming scenes on Y&R and then also referenced social media.
Soap opera fans are an intelligent group by and large. They read details within CDL’s articles because they enjoy Y&R and other types of entertainment. Y&R fans, in particular, value the genre, great actors like Case, Muhney and others, behind-the-scenes employees within the industry and their fellow, well-meaning fans.
Will Muhney ever be re-hired by Y&R? No one, including TPTB know, unless, of course this development is already in the works. But be sure to know that those within the soap opera world are always aware of the power of social media.
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