Darnell Williams (formerly Jesse on "All My Children") has been signed by "Young and Restless." This will reunite him with Debbi Morgan, who played the love of his life Angie on "AMC." "Y&R" has not released a start date, his character's name or how he will interact with Morgan, who plays Harmony, Devon's birth mother.

It is wonderful that the Daytime Emmy winner has this new gig — but there are a few caveats about this casting. Several soaps have tried to recapture the magic a soap couple had on a previous show. "One Life to Live" brought Jacqueline Courtney (Alice on "Another World") and her love interest George Reinholt (Steve on "One Life to Live"), thinking they could once again catch lightning in a bottle. It did not work. In fact, it has never worked when a soap tries to cash in with a duo from another soap.

In the past year, "Y&R" has brought several big names to the show. Aside from Morgan as Harmony, the performers have been ill used. Tristan Rogers (formerly Scorpio on "General Hospital) was in a convoluted storyline with his son Cain and Cain's twin — a twin who viewers did not know existed until dad came on the scene. After a few months, his character was sent away.

Maura West (Carly on "As the World Turns") was miscast as Diane. West, who won Emmys for her work at "ATWT," is an amazing actress. Her work as Diane was top-notch. Sadly, the actress was not a fit for that role. Diane was killed off in a who-cares murder story.

The biggest misuse has been Genie Francis (formerly Laura on "GH.") She came on as an over-the-top uber-witch. Just what the show needed ... not. Of late, they have softened the character. While we love seeing Peter Bergman (Jack) have his own storyline, the romance between the duo went from zero to 100 in 10 minutes. Literally Jack asks her out for a drink on a Wednesday, and by Friday they were engaged. This time span may work on "The Bachelor," but not on a soap. Bergman, who started his soap career as Cliff on "AMC," is one transplant who has been give great stories over the years.

Hopefully "Y&R" will get it right this time.

Marcy Rylan (Abby on "Y&R") tweeted that her maternity leave is over and she is already back on the set. Rylan is taking her son to the set. Her first airdate is Jan. 23.

Another new character arrives in Genoa City to make "Y&R" even more top-heavy with characters. Catherine Bach, who was the fabled Daisy Duke on "Dukes of Hazard" (for those of you too young to know, the shorts the character wore were so popular that they were called Daisy Dukes and became a fad for a few years), will play Chelsea's mother starting on Feb. 7.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.