The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera. It was first broadcast on March 26, 1973, and airs on CBS. The following is a list of characters that first appeared on the soap opera in 2016, by order of first appearance. In the first half of the year, characters were introduced by executive producer Jill Farren Phelps until her replacement in the summer of 2016 by supervising producer Mal Young Young was first credited as executive producer on July 13, 2016. Co-executive producer and head writer Charles Pratt Jr. oversaw the creation and introduction of the characters until his replacement by Sally Sussman Morina. Sussman's tenure as head writer began taping on October 20, 2016, and aired on December 7, 2016.