Why do actors on the young and the restless and the bold and the beautiful seem to go back and forth so much?

[dolphus]

i'm an on again, off again viewer of the shows and am curious about this. are the shows owned by the same company? why are some of the actors who swap shows the same characters, and some are different characters?

[baron57]

Same writers and it seems like they are an unfaithful, unhappy bunch because the writing for both shows sucks lately. Sometimes, they coincide the same s/l on both shows!

[raedclyf]

They're Bell soaps. Both were created by the Bell family and they still either tape in the same studio or close to each other. Occasionally they do crossovers (anybody remember the classic Lauren/Shelia saga in the mid 90's?). If the Bells like your acting skills it's easy to get back on a Bell soap later if you're looking for work. Eric use to be a character on Y and R a long time ago.n Stephanie was on Days of our Lives when Bell was writing that show. It's been happening since the beginning of B & B and the cross overs of having a character go from one show to the over in the 90's with Shelia leaving genoa city for LA. This was an extremely successful crossover (YR and BB were the top 2 rated shows at this time) so they've continued it through the years.

[karina]

They were both created by Bill Bell and Lee Phillip Bell (husband and wife). Brad Bell, their son, is charge now. Lauralee Bell (Cricket/Christine on Y&R) is their daughter, Brad's sister).

What happens sometimes is a character has run out of storylines on one show, but the Bells don't want to lose that actor, so they'll find a role for the (either the same character or a new one) on the other show. It also creates cross-interest between the two shows, especially when a romance is thrown into the mix that crosses characters from the two shows.

[cornwallis54]

same writers. Sometimes, like in the case of Brad on Y&R, the character dies so they can't play the same person - but other times, like Ashely Abbot, nothing prevented her from switching over and being the same person.

[baldwinn]

The Bold and the Beautiful is a spinoff of The Young and the Restless.
That is why they seem to bounce back and forth. And yes they are the same writers. Both shows suck though.