Though it has been something that fans of The Young and the Restless have been fearing for some time, it's now official: Justin Hartley (Adam Newman) is exiting his role on the CBS rolesoap. The actor broke his silence in a an eloquently written Facebook post dedicated to "the wonderful fans."
"After many weeks of having to keep quiet in order not to spoil storylines for all of you, the time has finally come that I'm able to write you this letter," Hartley wrote. "Although I am saying goodbye to Y&R, this is not a goodbye letter. I felt it was more important to write a thank you note. Each and every one of you helped make my time on the show enjoyable. I always loved hearing about how excited all of you were for certain characters, how disgusted you were with others, at times even mine, or how we were able to help you escape from a hectic day. You are some of the most loyal and dedicated fans I've ever encountered. You are truly the heart of the show. It simply does not work without you. I wanted to thank you for that. Thank you for tuning in; thank you for letting me entertain you; thanks for entertaining me, and thank you for caring."
Hartley was quick to note that he won't be pulling a disappearing act. He will move to NBC's primetime lineup with the highly anticipated new series, This Is Us.
This Is Us premieres on September 20th. You can read Justin's entire message to fans here and then check out a preview of the show below.
Hartley made his Y&R debut in November 2014. It is unclear at this time if Y&R plans to try to strike gold again and recast Adam, though a recent casting call for a character named "Dean" has raised some eyebrows.
How do you feel about Justin exiting his role as Adam? Should the role be recast... or should Y&R take its time to find the perfect replacement? Are you looking forward to Hartley's show This Is Us? 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.
