Actress Lauren Koslow made a surprise return to the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless on Monday, June 29, 2026.
She temporarily stepped into the iconic role of Jill Abbott.
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The sudden casting change happened because longtime portrayer Jess Walton could not travel from her home in Oregon to Los Angeles for crucial taping sessions.
Head writer Josh Griffith worked quickly with the show's publicist to find a solution.
"When we got the sad news that Jess wouldn't be able to make it down here for this, we were just so close to when we needed to do it," Griffith recalled.
Because both The Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives are produced under the Sony umbrella, executives coordinated schedules to let Koslow film around her existing commitments.
Griffith noted that the characters of Jill and Kate share multiple similarities.
"We reached out to her," explained Griffith.
"She was contracted on DAYS, but because of Sony we were able to reach out to them, and they very graciously agreed to let us work out a scheduling thing."
New Storyline for Jill Abbott
The temporary recast sets up a brand new storyline for Genoa City. Jill arrives back in town with a clear family directive regarding the family business operations.
"She wants them to get along," Griffith stated.
"She wants him to accept that Cane will be running this company that Billy has coveted for so long."
