‘The Young And The Restless’ Spoilers: Why Michael Muhney Probably Isn’t Coming Back


The Young and the Restless spoilers are hinting at a focus on the Adam Newman mystery, which begs the question: Is Michael Muhney coming back to reprise the role?

After revealing that she killed Adam Newman (Muhney/Justin Hartley), Chloe (Elizabeth Hendrickson) fled, but not before getting Victor (Eric Braeden) to help her escape. Not long after, Victor himself disappeared from Genoa City. Spoilers for the upcoming episodes of The Young and the Restless now tease that one of these two will have an encounter with Adam.

If The Young and the Restless does resolve the Adam Newman death mystery, who is coming back to portray him? Hartley, who took on the role between 2014 and 2016, isn’t likely to step back into the role. The actor is now too busy with the hit NBC drama This Is Us, which has just been renewed for another two seasons.

Fans are clamoring for Muhney, who was fired from The Young and the Restless in 2013, to return to the CBS soap, and he does seem eager to take on the task. On the same day that Chloe told Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) that she killed Adam, Muhney took to Twitter to reminisce about his time on The Young and the Restless.

Muhney stepped into the role of Adam Newman in 2009 and quickly earned praise for his take on the charming and complex character. Hartley, who replaced him, was also well-received. But with Hartley playing Adam, the Young and the Restless tweaked the character, making him quite a different person than the one Michael Muhney portrayed.

The Young and the Restless head writer has vetoed Adam’s return

Last year, The Young and the Restless executive producer and head writer Sally Sussman told TV Insider that she isn’t planning on bringing Adam back. She also said that Hartley is now too famous to return to The Young and the Restless, but didn’t comment on whether or not Muhney could reprise the role.

Nonetheless, her initial statement was that Adam is gone for good.

“I’m not looking to bring that character back nor do I want to do a paternity reveal involving a character who is off-camera.”

The Young and the Restless actors don’t want him back?

Aside from Sussman’s rejection of the possibility of Adam’s re-emergence, it also appears that some of those on the Young and the Restless cast and crew won’t appreciate Muhney’s return. As fans probably recall, tales of behind-the-scenes backstabbing surrounded Michael Muhney’s exit from the show.

In 2014, Braeden spoke about the situation, telling RadarOnline that he was prompted into fisticuffs with Muhney because the younger actor wanted him off the show.

The Young and the Restless veteran also responded to comments Muhney made in an interview with the Huffington Post, in which he said that any disagreements with Braeden would have to be left in the past.

“He is a very good actor and should keep his mouth shut. I don’t need to listen to the drivel that comes out of that person’s mouth.”

This year, Michael Muhney addressed the controversy surrounding his departure from The Young and the Restless and admitted that his ego and his abrasive personality at the time was the cause of his downfall.

“I should have known better,” he said during an interview for The Peloton Brief Podcast.

I was playing a character that I loved. But I started looking for the grass being greener somewhere else. Where I was stupid and where I made my mistake was my ego told me that for sure someone was going to snatch me up as soon as I left.”

He also explained that he was so deep into his character that he found himself transforming into Adam Newman. “I’m a bit of a method actor,” he confessed.

“I wanted to be Adam during takes, and during my lunch break. So I wouldn’t eat lunch with anyone, I’d go back to my dressing room and run lines. I was starting to need to become him to play him.”

He also admitted that he decided to pick fights with Braeden.

“…I agitated things just enough for them to say, ‘We got to split you guys up, this isn’t working, you gotta go.'”

But, by his own account, Muhney is a different person now than he was then. And he’s ready to return to the work — and the character — he loves. But as long as there’s bad blood between him and some of the other The Young and the Restless actors, a comeback probably isn’t in the cards.

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS and CBS All Access.

[Featured Image by Angela Weiss/Getty Images]

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