Y&R celebrates an amazing 30 years as the number one daytime drama

Time to pop Champagne, Genoa City fans: The Young and the Restless has officially marked 30 years as the nation's number one soap opera.

What were you doing 1,560 weeks ago? We'll wait while you whip out your soap abacus... divide by 52... carry the one. 30 years ago, or a whopping 1,560 weeks ago, The Young and the Restless moved into first place as the most-watched soap opera. It has remained at number one every week since.

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In honor of the special occasion, actors from Y&R taped a celebratory clip that gives thanks to the millions of viewers who have kept the series in the top ratings position for three decades.

"It's official -- The Young and the Restless has been the #1 daytime drama for 30 years, and that's all because of YOU!" the show's Twitter handle captioned the video. "We know how amazing the Y&R fans are and want to thank each and every one of you for tuning in weekdays on CBS. Our cast and crew [heart] you!"

Angelica McDaniel, Executive Vice President, Daytime Programs and Syndicated Program Development at CBS, attributes the remarkable run to both the strong storytelling on Y&R and a cast that includes several mainstays who have been around the entire time.

"The Young and the Restless has some of the best actors in the industry -- not in soaps, not in daytime, but in television," McDaniel told the Hollywood Reporter. "We just have an incredible arsenal of actors who are so talented and play these characters so well that you don't even realize they're characters. They become people who are part of your life, part of your daily existence."

Y&R began its winning streak on December 26, 1988, and has been going strong since that point, refusing to be unseated by any other daytime drama. As Soap Central previously reported, when the series first took over the top spot in 1988, you could buy a movie ticket for $3.50 to see Tom Cruise in Rain Man, a gallon of gas topped off at 91 cents, and the biggest song of the year was "Faith" by George Michael. And getting the latest soap news wasn't nearly as easy back then -- it was seven years before Soap Central started and a full decade before Google was born.

Congratulations to all of Y&R's past and present actors, crew, and executives.

Would you like to congratulate Y&R for holding the position of daytime's number one drama for an incredible 30 years? Which storyline moments and characters from the last three decades have been your favorites? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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