The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera. It was first broadcast on March 26, 1973, and airs on CBS. The following is a list of characters that first appeared on the soap opera in 2017, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by executive producer Mal Young and co-executive producer/head writer Sally Sussman. In October 2017, Sussman departed as co-executive producer and head writer; Young remained as executive producer and was promoted as head writer.