Young and the Restless Comings and Goings: Familiar Villain Resurfaces

A familiar villain is resurfacing on The Young and the Restless.

The new year brings an old, familiar villain back to the fold, at least temporarily. Here’s the latest comings and goings casting news from The Young and the Restless.

Find out which popular star from yesteryear is returning, if any newcomers are joining the soap in contract, recurring, or day-player roles, and if any actors or actresses are leaving the CBS drama.

Key Takeaways

• Ray Wise returns as Ian Ward on January 2, once again haunting Mariah in a chilling vision.
• Roger Howarth continues his run as Matt Clark, with Nick finally calling his bluff on December 29.
• Tessa gets a front-burner story as she explores her feelings for Daniel and receives a promise from him.

The Week of December 29, 2025

Ray Wise makes another appearance as Ian Ward on Friday, January 2. Once again, the former cult leader haunts Mariah (Camryn Grimes) in a vision. Wise last aired on the soap in October.  The actor discussed his last run on Y&R in a previous interview with Soap Hub.

Roger Howarth continues his run as Mitch Bacall/Matt Clark. Look for Joshua Morrow’s Nick to call the diabolical character’s bluff on Monday, December 29. (Y&R fans have mixed feelings about the character’s return, after being declared dead some 20 years ago.)

Catherine Kresge is back as Annie Stewart. The crooked cop interacts with Howarth and Tamara Braun’s Sienna on Monday, December 29 and Friday, January 2.

Cate Fairbanks gets more screen time as Tessa Porter. The character explores her feelings for Daniel (Michael Graziadei) on Wednesday, December 31, and receives a promise from him on Friday, January 2.

After Matt Clark aka “Mitch Bacall” accepts the $1 million Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) proposes for Sienna Bacall’s (Tamara Braun) safe return, he’ll want the money in an offshore account.

Matt will plan to be long gone from Genoa City when he reveals Sienna’s whereabouts – that is if he even goes through with returning her!

Noah Newman (Lucas Adams) won’t trust Matt to keep his end of the bargain at all, but Nick will reassure his son that they have another plot in the works.

Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) will work with Nick on a plan to stop Matt’s sinister tactics permanently, but Sienna and Noah could land in more trouble if that scheme goes wrong.

As for Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford), she’ll hit a roadblock when Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) refuses to strike a deal with her since she hasn’t proven herself trustworthy.

Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) will also give Jack some info that could affect his next strategy.

Maybe Nikki will point out that Michael Baldwin (Christian LeBlanc) is to blame for warning Victor about the Jabot shutdown being in the works.

Jack may determine that Michael can’t be trusted either, but it’s Victor who really needs to worry since Michael will be pulling him closer with a destructive goal.

Michael has a tough task ahead of him since he’ll need to find the AI program and get rid of it without Victor ever knowing he’s responsible.

If Michael’s plot backfires, he could destroy his bond with Victor forever.

New Year’s Eve will bring some interesting moments since Claire Newman (Hayley Erin) will spend hers with Holden Novak (Nathan Owens) – just as long as he’s willing to play by her one rule.

Cane will also hope to ring in the new year with Lily, but she won’t seem sold as he makes his pitch.

Will Lily ignore her instincts and cave in or reject the offer since she saw Cane making out with Phyllis again?

As for Adam Newman (Mark Grossman), he may try to patch things up with Sally Spectra (Courtney Hope) following their recent blowup.

Sally and Adam will talk about their difficult history, so that may be part of an attempt to move past all the friction.

Elsewhere, Tessa won’t be able to resist Daniel, so that’ll bring an exploration of how she truly feels.

Daniel and Tessa will lock lips once more, so this could lead to some passion in the bedroom if they decide to go all the way.

Daniel will make a vow to Tessa later as they try to navigate this tricky situation.

Mariah Copeland (Camryn Grimes) will be off navigating one of her own at her mental health facility, where Ian will come back to haunt her.

Although these Ian visions will just be in Mariah’s head, that won’t make them any less traumatic for her.

We should also mention that Y&R will air a repeat from 1998 on Thursday, January 1, but they’ll cap the week off with a brand-new episode on Friday, January 2.

The Young and the Restless spoilers say several story shockers are brewing in GC, so stick with us for updates on all the wild news ahead.