The Young and the Restless is ramping up its girl power with the returns of both Lauren Woodland (Brittany Hodges) and Kelly Kruger (Mackenzie Hellstrom).
The actresses recently reprised their respective roles in celebration of the CSB soap's 45th anniversary, and now Soap Central has learned that they've both been asked back for indefinite periods of time.
Things will look a little different this time around though, at least for Brittany. During her last appearance the character was revealed to be an attorney -- and it looks like she'll get to put her legal eagle skills to the test when someone finds themselves in trouble.
What would the real-life lawyer's advice be to her fictional clients? "Keeping your mouth shut is probably the first piece of advice I'd give to anybody I was representing," Woodland told Soap Central's Dan J Kroll on the Red Carpet. "But that doesn't work very well on a soap opera, does it? That's no fun!"
In a fun coincidence, Lauren Woodland is herself an attorney. In 2011, Woodland received a law degree from the UCLA School of Law.
No storyline teases have been revealed for Mackenzie, but both Kruger and Woodland told Soap Central at this year's Daytime Emmys that they'd be taping within the next week or two. In fairness, Kruger didn't actually break the news to us -- her hubby, Darin Brooks did by singing a line or two from Mark Morrison's 1997 smash "Return of the Mack."
[Editor's Note: We have since learned that it was, in fact, Linsey Godfrey who started the "Return of the Mack." The Emmy-mominated actress explained that she should get the credit and that, perhaps, Brooks just sang it forward on the Red Carpet.]
Whoa whoa whoa @soapcentral! I started the singing of Return of the Mac NOT @THEEdarinbrooks!! https://t.co/2ugcxN8KnC
— Linsey Godfrey (@linseygodfrey) May 6, 2018
Kruger played the role of Mackenzie from 2002 to 2003 and recently had a run as Eva on The Bold and the Beautiful. Her other credits include Castle, The Bold Type, Imposters, and Thirtyish.
Woodland left Y&R in 2005, shortly after having earned a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Younger Actress in 2004. She hasn't been very active in the entertainment world in recent years, having guest-starred on only a handful of series like Cold Case and Living with Fran. However, her résumé prior to joining Y&R in 2000 is full and includes roles on shows like Port Charles, Sunset Beach, Brooklyn Bridge, and Brotherly Love.
What do you think about Woodland and Kruger returning to Y&R? Who do you think will be in trouble with the law? 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.
