A gay storyline – which might include
the return of Thom Bierdz's gay character – is expected to debut
this month on the CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless.
In
speaking with blogger Greg Hernandez, executive producer Raul
Rauch confirmed the upcoming gay storyline but refused to divulge
specifics.
Hernandez says the conversation dealt
directly with the gay character played by Thom Bierdz, who is openly
gay in real life. Upon lamenting about the show's lack of a gay
storyline, Rauch replied: “Maybe you should keep looking at the
show … July might be a good time. We won't disappoint you.”
Bierdz plays Phillip Chancellor III, a
closeted gay man who faked his death to live his life openly
elsewhere. The character returned last summer and came out to the
family he left behind, including his son Phillip Chancellor IV,
played by John Driscoll.
Driscoll told Hernandez that he was
unaware of Bierdz's return but would welcome him.
“My father's coming back,” he
added. “I'm happy to hear that.”
He said last year's coming out
storyline was interesting because it reversed the dynamics of story.
“Most of the time, it's the son
coming out to the father and in this case, it was the father coming
out to the son,” Discoll said.