List of The Young and the Restless characters introduced in 2014
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 2014, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and head writers Shelly Altman and Jean Passanante.
Ian Ward
Ian Ward, portrayed by Ray Wise, made his first appearance on January 23, 2014, as a former cult leader, believed to be the biological father of Dylan McAvoy and former lover of Nikki Newman. Wise's casting in the recurring role was announced in December 2013. The character was slated to "play an integral role in the lives of several Genoa City residents". Michael Fairman of On-Air Soaps wrote that, "Now this is actually good casting if you look at the eyes of Ray Wise and Steve Burton!", and also asked if the character "could become the next Mitch Laurence of daytime". Jillian Bowe of Zap2it wrote that, "Nikki and Dylan will soon have another family reunion in Genoa City." Soap Opera Digest described Ian as a "charismatic former cult leader who seduced a teen Nikki, resulting in the son he never knew he had ". In an interview with the magazine, Wise stated that the director of How I Met Your Mother, a sitcom where Wise recurs, recommended him for the role to the soap opera's producer, Jill Farren Phelps. Wise also described and explained the character, stating: "I think he's like everybody else; there's good and bad in all of us. Ian certainly has that. In the past, he's been the leader of a group of people. he has a philosophy and a kind of religion that he follows called The Path. He's in town to find out about a certain individual, but he's probably there to stir it up a little bit and I think he will." After a nearly year long absence, Wise returned on September 4, 2015. Wise reprised the role when Ian returned to Genoa City in November 2024, opposite Jordan Howard.Ian arrives in Genoa City suddenly after being informed by a co-worker that two people were looking for him in Indiana. He surprises Nikki by appearing in her home and she immediately tells him to leave before slapping him twice; he is surprised that Nikki never told him he fathered a child with her. He then introduces himself to Dylan, who is not pleased that he is in town. Ian later overhears Summer Newman talking about being confused about her future, and he gives her a business card for The Path, the present-day version of his cult. He later convinces her to begin counseling with him, but Nikki and Summer's father Nicholas Newman are able to stop him from scamming Summer. Dylan later confronts Ian and asks why he should not kill him, where he claims to have a secret. Ian is arrested and his case is taken by Leslie Michaelson, generating controversy. Later, Dylan and Nikki's husband Victor Newman work to get Ian out of town, contacting his ex-wife Willah, who later reveals that Ian is unable to father children. Leslie also breaks the client/attorney confidentiality clause by revealing his secret. This leads Nikki to realize that Ian was never Dylan's father and that her lover at the time, Paul Williams, is. Ian defends himself by saying that when Nikki said that he was Dylan's father, he decided to come to town and go along with her assumptions. He also threatens to report Leslie for revealing his secret if she does not file a lawsuit against Nikki. The lawsuit ends up happening and goes to court, where Nikki is forced to read a diary she kept while in Ian's cult.
Mariah Copeland, who had been shown to have been linked with Ian somehow, was later revealed to be Sharon Newman's daughter, Cassie Newman's twin sister who was stolen at birth by Ian. After Mariah had revealed that he had been a father figure to her all her life, Ian later kidnaps her, drugs her and marries her while she is under the influence of the drugs. Ian escapes from being arrested, and Dylan is left looking suspicious in what happened to him. He is later arrested for Ian's murder, but Paul reveals that he knows Dylan is innocent and Ian is alive. He enlists the help of he and Nikki to lure Ian back to Genoa City. Nikki successfully gets Ian to a hotel room, where he is finally arrested, and Dylan is cleared of all charges.
Ian returns to Genoa City in 2015, revealing he escaped prison and is working on a secret project with Adam Newman to take down Victor and Newman Enterprises, Paragon. Adam, at the time, had assumed the identity of Gabriel Bingham, but had disclosed his true identity to Ian. The project is a computer virus that Ian had created to destroy Newman Enterprises' computer system, but Adam soon begins having doubts over the long-term consequences of their project. Meanwhile, Ian encounters Phyllis Summers and convinces her he is a fisherman named Fred, as Phyllis was out of town in a coma when Ian was first in Genoa City and is unaware of who he really is. She attempts to get her husband Jack Abbott to meet him, but Ian manages to always disappear to hide his true identity when Phyllis arrives with Jack. Summer later notices Phyllis engaging with "Fred" in the park and immediately alerts her mother of who he really is and what he has done to the people of Genoa City. Victor soon finds out that Ian is out of prison and reports the situation, only to find Ian in prison where he belongs when visiting the jail with Nikki. On Halloween, a fire is set to the Newman Enterprises tower and Ian is revealed as the one who started it. After almost everyone has been evacuated from the building, Ian encounters Patty Williams, who had escaped from the psychiatric hospital and convinces her to run away with him.
Ian and Patty are next seen in a motel room, with him telling her that she has to choose a new name if she is going to continue on with him. Victor and Phyllis soon arrive at his motel room, having tracked him down. Victor holds Phyllis by the throat and threatens to kill her if he does not evacuate and stop Paragon. Ian, distressed, agrees to do so. A month later, Patty is found by police, having been living on the streets after Ian dumped her.
Mark Harding
Detective Mark Harding, portrayed by Chris McKenna, made his first appearance on February 17, 2014. McKenna, known for his portrayal of Joey Buchanan on One Life to Live, announced his casting on social media site Twitter on January 17. According to the actor, the role was expected to last for "a few episodes". The casting was later officially confirmed by a spokesperson for the series on January 21. McKenna taped his first scenes on January 22. The character is slated to "appear during an exciting event that will bring several Genoa City residents together."McKenna last appeared on August 25, 2015 when Harding is killed by Paul Williams.
Austin Travers
Austin Travers, portrayed by Matthew Atkinson, made his first appearance on April 17, 2014. Atkinson's casting in the recurring role was announced in March, slated to be a cameraman working with Avery Bailey Clark. Jamey Giddens of Zap2it wrote that the series was "upping its hunk quotient" by hiring Atkinson. In an interview with On-Air On-Soaps before his debut, Atkinson revealed that Austin would also be involved in a storyline with Summer Newman.Austin debuts as a cameraman, working with Avery on her new online cooking show. After the first episodes are posted, an anonymous person begins posting rude and suspicious comments, under the screen name "4MJ". Avery suspects Ian Ward is behind it, despite denying it. Austin later meets Summer Newman and is smitten with her, and they begin dating. It is then revealed that Austin is the unknown person posting comments, and he later kidnaps Avery and makes her confess to freeing the man that killed his mother years prior. Avery's boyfriend Dylan McAvoy rushes to save her, despite warnings from police chief Paul Williams. After Dylan arrives and Austin pulls a gun, Dylan tackles him as Paul and the police force arrive. Austin fires the gun and Paul is shot, leaving him in critical condition. Austin escapes and goes on the run, where Summer insists on accompanying him. The police catch up with him, but Austin is able to leave Summer and return to Genoa City to turn himself in. Summer then insists on finding a lawyer to represent him, even asking Avery to do it. Leslie Michaelson takes the case and Summer bails him out. Later, she suggests they get married, which they do, shocking all of Summer's loved ones who are convinced Austin will be convicted. At his hearing, all he is given is a fine to pay, which Summer pays from her trust fund. They resume their marriage as tension surrounding their union begins to lift.
Tension quickly rose on their union as Summer became increasing jealous when Austin develops a friendship with Cassie's twin sister Mariah Copeland, whom she strongly dislikes. When Summer's mother returns from her coma, Summer introduces Austin as her friend, upsetting Austin with Summer claiming that the doctor is requiring her family not to give upsetting or shocking information to Phyllis. Soon after, Phyllis learns from Summer that the two are "engaged" which enrages her. Phyllis becomes even more furious when she learns the two are married and Austin is a felon. As Phyllis sees their relationship begin to blossom, Phyllis agrees to ease up, which allows the pair to be together. Months after it is revealed to Summer that Sharon switched her paternity results, Summer and Austin once again face relationship problems, when Summer learns Mariah kissed Austin. Abby Newman invites Summer, Austin, Mariah, Kevin Fisher, Fenmore Baldwin, Noah Newman, and Courtney Sloane to the Abbott Cabin. After Fenmore spiked Abby's punch, everyone falls asleep. After the group wakes up, they discover Austin is missing and, while discussing his possible whereabouts, Austin falls out of a wardrobe and Courtney declares him dead.