The Young and the Restless: Whatever happened to the Class of 1998

The Young and the Restless rebroadcast a classic episode from 1998 on New Year's Day. In many ways, the show has stayed, as evidenced by Victor's issues with Jack, who had a great relationship with his ex, Nikki. Christine, Michael, and Esther are present today, as they were then. In other ways, so much of Genoa City had changed.

The Young and the Restless, isn't it ironic

In 1998, Tricia Dennison (Sabryn Genet) caught the eye of rising Genoa City executive Ryan McNeil (Scott Reeves). Ironically, a few years later, it all ended horribly as a deranged Tricia shot Ryan on his wedding day to Victoria, killing him in the process!

Speaking of Victoria, she is played by Amelia Heinle today, but back in 1998, Heather Tom (now Katie on The Bold and the Beautiful) played the part. Vicki was pregnant with Cole's (J. Eddie Peck) baby, but she was dating Neil (the late Kristoff St. John) at the time, and Cole was wed to Ashley (then, Shari Shattuck).

All Vicki had to do was walk around Katherine Chancellor's estate, holding a plate of food, and she had the attention of not just two men (Neil, Cole) but also a third, Ryan, who learned in the episode that his ex was expecting.

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It's a head-scratcher that neither Newman Media nor Abbott Communications had enlisted the aid of gossip monger Leanna Love (Barbara Crampton), who, back in 1998, had a TV show. No one gets the scoop like Leanna! Her latest guest had been Diane Jenkins (then, Alex Donnelley), who was in the midst of a divorce from Victor. The mogul summoned Leanna, one of his many ex-wives, to his office, but viewers were left wondering why he wanted to see her. Y&R has always been a master at getting viewers to tune in tomorrow.

Not all the action took place at Victor's office or Katherine's lavish estate. Crimson Lights was bustling with activity. Megan Dennison (Ashley Jones) met with Tony Viscardi (Nick Scotti) to explore a budding relationship, which didn't go unnoticed by Grace Turner (Jennifer Gareis, who now, ironically, plays B&B's Donna, the aunt of Jones's Bridget!).

Tony died after he was run over by a car driven by Tricia. Leanna still pops up every now and then when her role as a journalist is required for a story.

The Young and the Restless, forward-thinking

We could help but chuckle when business executive Neil Winters threw out to Malcolm (Shemar Moore), Olivia (Tonya Lee Williams), and Victoria the benefit of getting Jabot products online so that customers could order items online! In the late 1990s, the Internet was still growing!

On a more poignant note, Cole told Victoria that they were going to make great parents (despite no longer being together). In that moment, no one could have predicted that later that year, Vicki would give birth, she and Cole would be told that their daughter, named Eve, had died, but was, in reality, stolen from the hospital by Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk). As today's viewers know, baby Eve turned out to be Claire (Hayley Erin)!

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Neil died from heart failure in 2019, and Cole passed away last year from complications from a severe form of pneumonia, not too long after being reunited with Eve/Claire.

Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus.

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