The Young And The Restless was created by Bill and Lee Phillip Bell and premiered on March 26th, 1973. Two years after the show debuted it won it's first Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Series. In February 1980, the show was extended from it's thirty minute format to one hour per day. In 1988, The Young And The Restless took over the number one slot as America's most watched daytime drama serial and has remained there ever since. (thetvdb.com)