Nothing brings in viewers like a good, old-fashioned soap opera wedding, as evidenced by the nice ratings bump Nick and Sharon's (near) nuptials brought to The Young and the Restless.
When Prince Harry married American actress Meghan Markle earlier this year, fans from all over the world tuned in to watch the historic moment. And when The Young and the Restless' Nicholas Newman (Joshua Morrow) showed up to marry Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) earlier this month, the response was much the same.
Though the popular CBS soap opera has been experiencing a bit of a ratings erosion recently, the doomed matrimonial moment -- though not a success for Nick and Sharon -- was a success for the series in terms of fan interest.
"Y&R posts over four million viewers -- largest audience in over a month," the network tweeted about Y&R's ratings along with the good news that its sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful, hit a six-week high.
Love General Hospital, B&B, DAYS or other soaps? Join the conversation on our SC boards! Click here to connect with fans and dive into discussions now
As Soap Central's Y&R recap for the week of October 1 spells out, a lot of action-packed drama was responsible for bringing in extra eyes. The Jabot board voted Billy (Jason Thompson) out when Ashley (Eileen Davidson) revealed that he'd embezzled from the company; Phyllis (Gina Tognoni) accepted Billy's proposal moments before Sharon exposed Nick and Phyllis' tryst; Billy threw Phyllis out and turned to Summer (Hunter King) for comfort; and Sharon broke off her relationship with Nick rather than marrying him as planned.
Though all of the happenings spell disaster for many of the residents of Genoa City, the ratings boost they caused means Y&R can head into November on a high note. Here's hoping the show's upcoming November Sweeps material continues to bring viewers back to daytime's number one soap opera.
What do you think of Y&R's ratings? What are your thoughts on the storylines currently playing out on the daytime series? Which stories are working the best for you? What stories do you think are not working at all? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
Enjoyed this article? Join the conversation in our The Young and the Restless forum! Click here to connect with fans and dive into discussions now.