What State Is The Young and the Restless Set

The popular CBS soap opera drops hints from time to time, but unless you are a loyal fan you might be wondering: “What state is the Young and the Restless set?”

This tranquil setting serves as the inspiration for what soap opera?

It keeps references to cheese, beer and bratwurst to a minimum, but Young and the Restless fans know Genoa City, Wisconsin is where the Abbott, Newman, Chancellor, Fisher, and Winters’ families lead their deliciously complicated, drama-packed lives. However, what most fans may not realize is that while the soap is based in a fictional midwestern town, there is a real Genoa City, Wisconsin.

Young and the Restless creators William J. Bell (now deceased) and Lee Phillip Bell have a vacation home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and spent many years driving through the nearby village of Genoa City. According to The Young and the Restless website, when it came down to deciding where to set their show, the couple decided to honor the southeastern Wisconsin community by making it the home of their main characters.

The real Genoa City is a tiny Wisconsin border town with a population of less than 3,500. The village of just 700 households offers affordable living and a quiet rural atmosphere. Its close proximity to both Milwaukee and Chicago make it popular with commuters and with Young and the Restless fans. In fact, village administrators say during the summer months thousands of soap fans make pilmigrages to the real Genoa City to take photos and try to catch a glimpse of the Bell family.

Unfortunately for Young and the Restless fans, any similarities between Genoa City, Wisconsin and the soap opera version end with the spelling of their names. Locals, who have a vested interested in the CBS serial, will tell you that the show’s sizzling vixens and hunky villains don’t even pronounce their hometown the same. The crisis-filled residents of the soap pronounce Genoa as "Jen-a-wah." While real Wisconsinites say they are from “Gin-O-ah” City.

Whereas billionaire Victor Newman fights over Fortune 500 companies in the morning and frolics between the sheets after lunch, residents of the real Genoa City say they don’t lead nearly as exciting lives. Most residents of Genoa City, Wisconsin are retired, while others spend the majority of their time commuting to jobs in larger bordering cities. In addition, while The Young and the Restless revolves around heated rivalries, sexy hook-ups, lies and manipulations in the fictional metropolis of Genoa City, residents in the Wisconsin village don’t even have a single stoplight. The community does have a four-way stop sign, but locals say there are few occasions when other vehicles are there at the same time.

On the Young and the Restless’ version of Genoa City money is plentiful and so are the women. The same can’t be said for Genoa City, Wisconsin. But that doesn’t mean the award-winning CBS soap doesn’t feature references to the state it portrays on television.

When Young and the Restless writers hatched a plot to get Jack Abbott (played by Peter Bergman) to represent Genoa City in the Wisconsin state Senate, they went straight to the source. Writers on the daytime drama contacted Sen. Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn) and quizzed him about being a state senator. Since Genoa City, Wisconsin is in Kedzie’s district, Young and the Restless story coordinators were interested in asking him how his office was set up, how he interacts with staff members and what he does on weekends. The background information provided to Young and the Restless writers about how things work in the Capitol helped them deliver a realistic portrayal in the fictional Genoa City.

Wisconsin got another chance to shine on the national spotlight when Young and the Restless producers cast four popular Milwaukee Brewer players on the show. Shortstop J.J. Hardy, center fielder Bill Hall and pitchers Chris Capuano and Jeff Suppan made their acting debuts on the top-rated CBS soap opera on June 20, 2007. The players’ cameo appearance was part of the Jack Abbott senate seat storyline. The baseball superstars popped in for a photo session to aid in Jack's race for the senate seat. While there they run into Phyllis (played by Michelle Stafford), who injected some comic relief into the scene by giving her own spin on some baseball stats.

Now that you know the answer to the question: "What state is the Young and the Restless set?," consider checking out these great LTK slideshows featuring some of your favorite Young and the Restless hunks and hotties:

• Young and the Restless Scoops
• Young and the Restless Spoilers
• Young and the Restless Hairstyles
• Young and the Restless Previews

• Desperate Housewives Cast Members
• Cute Daytime Soap Opera Actresses
• True Blood Full Episodes
• Sex and the City Quiz

• Young and the Restless Spoilers
• All My Children Spoilers
• All My Children Scoops and Spoilers
• General Hospital Scoops and Spoilers
• Soap Opera Spoilers

• Neighbours Australian Soap
• Category:Daytime Soap Operas
• Information on Young and the Restless Soap Opera
• Young and Restless Toni Spoiler
• Young and the Restless Episodes