Sharon's Special Episode on The Young and the Restless

On the Young and the Restless, Sharon Case plays the role of Sharon Newman. September 14 officially marked the 30th anniversary of the first episode that Case appeared.

The show is airing a Sharon-centric episode on Friday, September 27, 2024, to commemorate the occasion.

In exclusive interviews, Sharon Case recently spoke to Woman's World and TV Insider about her role as Sharon, her anniversary on the show, and the special episode.

Sharon's mental health on The Young and the Restless

Despite being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Sharon is a strong, resilient businesswoman and mother. However, she changed her medications earlier this year, and she began to spiral.

After some triggering events, Sharon began to hallucinate. She believed she was talking to Cassie (Camryn Grimes), Cameron (Linden Ashby), and sometimes even Nick (Joshua Morrow).

Sharon is no stranger to dangerous situations, but lately, her mental state has put her and others in danger. Encouraged by Cameron, who represents Sharon's thoughts, she has been plotting to kill Daniel (Michael Graziadei) to avenge Cassie's death.

"This story about her mental illness is a long arc, and I love that we're doing it," she continues. "The storyline is important, but also very entertaining – and what's to come is wildly entertaining! In all these years, I've never seen people on set so excited about a storyline," Case said in her interview.

Case said she thought it was terrific that they were revisiting Cassie's death. "Often in soap opera land, we move onto a new story – and we should – but the truth of the matter is, no one ever gets over the loss of their child. That is something that will always affect you and sometimes becomes more poignant," Case explained.

"But her spinning out is part of what makes her so great," Case added, "I mean, who doesn't spin out sometimes?

Working on The Young and the Restless for 30 years

Case told TV Insider that she loves sets like the Crimson Lights coffeehouse, not just for the change of scenery. She fondly recalls that it's a "classic set that's been there since the Bill Bell [co-creator] days."

Case also enjoys the fact that as it is a coffeehouse, she often can interact with the other characters who come into the shop. "And it's probably a little more selfish, but we have two stages and the coffeehouse is on the second stage, so it's likely to shoot in the afternoon and I love rolling into work at noon or one. I'm not a morning person," Case added.

As for Sharon's house, she said that she's been on that set for decades, so it feels like home. However, unlike Crimson Lights, Sharon's house is on the first set. "When I see that set go up, I'm like, 'OK, my life is about to change. I'm going to have early mornings, getting up at 4:30 now.'"

Sharon's special episode on The Young and the Restless

This week, Friday's episode will center around Sharon. Case assured fans that it will be part of the storyline and not just a walk down memory lane. Case explained that the flashbacks will be relevant to Sharon's current situation.

"It is a Sharon-centric episode, but it isn't a one-off or a separate day. It makes sense within the storyline that we're doing. It isn't an episode where we're just going to air all my favorite flashbacks," Case added.

Case didn't want to give so many hints that it would spoil it for the viewers but said it was a long day of filming. "There were a lot of scenes and I had a lot of dialogue to memorize," Case said.

"We all work together as a group so well. My stage manager, Fritz [Brekeller], and my director, Sally McDonald, really were key in getting me through that and making it so that I could accomplish that show. It was a big show, so thank you to them." - Sharon Case to TV Insider.

To Woman's World, Case shared how wonderful it was when the cast and crew surprised her while filming the special episode. "I was doing a whole set of scenes that were pretty emotional, so I was very focused for hours. Then the lights came up, I looked up… and there's 50 people on stage applauding and giving me beautiful roses!" Case said.

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. Watch Sharon's special episode on Friday, September 27, 2024.