Credit: Howard Wise/JPI (3)
Young & Restless viewers may have groaned, and audibly, when Chance announced that he was leaving the Genoa City Police Department to enter the corporate world. If there’s one thing the show doesn’t need, it’s another exec to join in the low-stakes game of musical CEOs! But there may be an upside to the GCPD’s loss — especially for Phyllis.
Help Wanted
With Chance hanging up his badge — and Paul long gone and Rey pushing up daisies — there are literally no cops left on Young & Restless. And since headwriter Josh Griffith has expressed his interest in introducing more menaces to society like Cameron Kirsten and crazy Aunt Jordan — more on those plans here — Genoa City is going to need somebody around to take a shot at maintaining some semblance of law and order.
Who better than Ronan Malloy?
Chance’s half brother is an FBI agent who has already worked with the GCPD. So he’s more than qualified. (Certainly better qualified than Chance is to become a wannabe tycoon!) And Ronan has quite the colorful history in Genoa City.
You’ll recall that he was once involved with Chloe. And Heather. And, hottest of all, Phyllis. Were he to return to town now, he might shake up Chloe’s unusually stable marriage to Kevin. Ronan might help Heather pique old flame Daniel’s interest by making him jealous. Or he might pick up where things left off with Phyllis, whose dance card has been empty for far too long.
Busybody or Busy Body?
Michelle Stafford has been a hoot and a half as her character has attempted to turn over a new leaf (mainly by focusing her energies on meddling). But at the end of the day, Phyllis is a heat-seeking missile; she just has to be pointed at the right guy — and that guy is Ronan.
It always mystified us why Young & Restless didn’t make more of their pairing back when Jeff Branson was first on the show. He didn’t get it, either. Upon his exit in 2012, he admitted to Michael Fairman TV, “There’s so much story there that was never touched… If I come back, I would more than anything play out a story with Tricia Cast (Nina) and really do the Phyllis/Ronan storyline properly, which I think was the way it was going.
“It was more loving and real,” he added, “more than just hooking up and having beer and pizza. There was real potential there.”
