The Young and the Restless is on a killing spree… and fans are not having it. First, it was Cole. Then Damian. Then Carter, who, okay, might not be a legacy character, and now? Chance Chancellor. His shocking exit has fans lighting up the internet, calling it one of the show’s biggest mistakes in recent memory.
So, what went down? Let’s rewind to the July 28 episode of The Young and the Restless, set in Nice, France.
Cane corners Carter, pressuring him to admit he killed Damian. What Carter doesn’t know… nor Cane for that matter, is that Victor and Chance are eavesdropping. Just as Carter finally confesses, Chance walk in—right behind him is Lily. The whole vibe shifts fast.
Carter panics, pulls a gun, grabs Lily, and makes a run for it. The others rush after him. Chance tries to step in and stop it, but Carter shoots him. Then, Carter runs off, gunshots ring out, and we later see him lying in a pool of blood. It turns out, he shot himself.
But here’s the thing—fans are in the least bit thrilled about this murder. Especially with how Chance’s storyline ended. Some are calling it senseless. Others, just plain lazy writing.
Fan Reactions Are Pouring In
Casey Hutchinson, a longtime fan of the show, wrote a piece titled The Young and the Lifeless. He opened with:
“Alright, so I’m not the oldest of soap opera fans. After all, I was born in 1999. And prior to the CBS soap opera Beyond the Gates premiering in 2025, I was born in a year that saw cancellation of the beloved Another World on NBC get replaced with the James E. Reilly created soap opera Passions. And before that psychedelic trip of a program took over for the once realistic feeling, incomparable theatre acted led Irna Phillips drama, which certainly saw better days prior to its demise, networks were more into creating than cancelling. But what happened in the year of 1999, though another soap opera had premiered, would come to be known as the beginning of the end, or at least that’s what soap fans were led to believe.”
He went on to add:
My mother first introduced me to All My Children. I was instantly hooked, be it I was in Kindergarten and hardly understood anything at the time, to the trials and tribulations of those who populated Pine Valley, or those who would get caught in the orbit of Erica Kane be it as a friend, foe, or future husband, even if it was an ex-husband trying to rekindle things with the shortest supermodel the world had ever known.
But while I watched all the other ones on the other networks, especially my love for the first soap opera I ever introduced myself to personally in NBC’s, now Peacock’s Days of Our Lives, I truly couldn’t look away from CBS. There was just something different about Guiding Light, As the World Turns, The Bold and the Beautiful, and what would later become my favorite…the crown jewel of soaps…the crown jewel of CBS’ daytime line-up, The Young and the Restless.
Set in the fictional town of Genoa City, now having aired over 13,000 episodes across over 50 seasons, The Young and the Restless has always been different.
Surviving small changes like half-hour to an hour, bigger changes such as navigating the passing of beloved cast members in the likes of the legendary Jeanne Cooper and the incomparable Kristoff St. John, or even the WTF moments such as killing off powerful characters like Drucilla, Brad, and John, there was just something about Y&R that kept faithful fans tuning in everyday, such as myself, no matter the course of the story.
And it is my belief that with its blend of celebrity guest appearances, fresh cut flowers on the set, fur coats, and performers such as Melody Thomas Scott, and its iconic theme tune, that the CBS sudser has always tried to stick to a formula unlike any other to keep its very forgiving audience coming back day-after-day.
Later in the piece, Hutchinson made it clear he wasn’t happy about Chance’s death:
A series called The Young and the Restless, once again, doing away with its younger legacy characters. It has always been a joke amongst soap fans, including myself, that we were there for the older characters. But, we also want to see the younger generations, especially since the older ones themselves gave birth to these now beloved characters.
We saw Ashley grow into a smart businesswoman for decades, navigating mental health and husbands. We want to see that in Abby now.
We saw Katherine and Jill battle over the Chancellor name and legacy, we saw Nina lose a love of her life and be chased by the dangerous David Kimble, who preyed on her vulnerability as a mother, and we should’ve gotten to see some of that thrilling action packed story with Chance, the cop turned businessman, turned cop. But instead, we get his untimely and non-impactful death, simply out-of-nowhere.
Will It Stick?
One thing’s for sure: viewers are fired up. Whether this death sticks or gets undone with a soap-style resurrection, fans are making their voices heard loud and clear online. See some posts below.
So how do you feel about Chance’s death on The Young and the Restless? (Photo: CBS.)
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