‘The Young and the Restless’: Sharon Case and Joshua Morrow Were Heartbroken By Cassie’s On-Screen Death
Cassie Newman’s death on The Young and the Restless is one of the show’s most iconic storylines. The storyline is still making waves on the show today. Back when the death first happened, actors Sharon Case and Joshua Morrow talked about how they felt.
Camryn Grimes played Cassie Newman years before she stepped into the role of Mariah Copeland
The character of Cassie was the daughter of Sharon and Nick Newman. She was Sharon’s biological daughter who was adopted by Nick. Cassie died on-screen in 2007. Played by Camryn Grimes, the actress portrayed the character for over 10 years. Cassie death is one of the most notable storylines in the show’s entire history. The storyline had huge impacts across the show and its canvas. Some of the stories on the show and characters’ motivations and impacts are still propelled by Cassie’s death. The death has had long-lasting effects in the show, making it also one of the biggest and wide-ranging plot lines in The Young and the Restless overall.
After Cassie’s death, Grimes returned to the show several times to appear as a ghost. Grimes appeared on and off until 2014. This same year, she returned to the show as a series regular. However, instead of playing Cassie’s ghost full-time, she debuted as a new character, Mariah Copeland.
When the character was first introduced, Mariah was brought to town after being hired by Nick’s father, Victor, to gaslight Sharon. Down the road, it is revealed that Mariah is actually the secret daughter of Sharon and is Cassie’s twin who was stolen at birth. Mariah was first depicted as villainous but is now just as beloved on the show as Cassie. The character has been praised for being a groundbreaking character who is involved in the show’s first major same-sex romance.
Joshua Morrow and Sharon Case talked about Cassie Newman’s death in an interview years ago
In an interview many years ago around Cassie’s death, Morrow and Case talked about the storyline in an interview they did with Grimes for Soap Opera Digest. The two talked about how they were impacted by the storyline and Grimes leaving the show.
“The scene we shot when Cassie dies was the hardest work I’ve ever done,” said Case. “The whole crew gathered around for it and Camryn was [overcome] because it was her final scene. It was just so raw and incredibly emotional. Every person on the set was crying and had tissues in their hands. I’ve cried in a lot of scenes before and I never make the crew cry, but in this case, they did. Oh, my God, it was like losing my own daughter.”
“Cammie has always been my little girl, but I’ll never forget the day it all changed for me,” said Morrow. “She was always having lunch at the studio with her family and one day, I saw her eating with Christel Khalil and Lyndsy Fonseca. They were just sitting around and talking, but right then I said, ‘Well, here it goes.’ Ever since then it was, ‘Where did my little girl go?’
Though they were torn up about her death, Grimes is back on the show and they are all working together again.
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS.
