User:DaniloDaysOfOurLives/sandbox/Ashland

Ashland Locke is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera, The Young and the Restless. He made his first appearance on March 11, 2021, played by Richard Burgi. The character was recast with Robert Newman in 2022.

https://soaps.sheknows.com/the-young-and-the-restless/news/640146/young-restless-why-ashland-locke-left-who-really-killed-him/

https://michaelfairmantv.com/robert-newman-reveals-hes-wrapped-his-run-as-ashland-locke-on-the-young-and-the-restless/2022/07/27/

https://deadline.com/2021/03/the-young-and-the-restless-richard-burgi-recur-cbs-daytime-drama-1234702349/

Casting
https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/young-and-the-restless-richard-burgi-fired-covid-1235152487/

Development
https://soaps.sheknows.com/the-young-and-the-restless/news/640146/young-restless-why-ashland-locke-left-who-really-killed-him/

https://michaelfairmantv.com/robert-newman-reveals-hes-wrapped-his-run-as-ashland-locke-on-the-young-and-the-restless/2022/07/27/

Reception
Prior to his introduction, Amy Mistretta from Soaps She Knows referred to the character as a "ruthless business mogul". Richard Simms from the same website referred to Ashland as a "legendarily malevolent husband". Simms, alongside Charlie Mason, later wrote that Ashland was the "Second-Best New Character" of 2021 in American soap operas, calling him the "Locke Ness Monster", but wanted the soap to show "just how bad Richard Burgi's Big Bad is instead of merely telling us over and over again that he's powerful and scary". The following year, they called Burgi's firing from the soap as the "Biggest Shock, On Screen" of 2022. Following the news of the recast, Mason noted that whilst it was a "bummer" that Burgi had departed, the soap "couldn't have picked a finer successor for him than Newman". Mason also noted that Ashland and Victoria's pairing was one of The Young and the Restless' "biggest successes of 2021". Simms referred to Burgi's departure as a "twist nobody saw coming" and noted that Burgi had joined the soap to "great fanfare", as well as noting that the "unexpected pairing" of Ashland and Victoria "almost immediately caught fire" rather than a love triangle between Tara, Kyle and Summer.

However, Mason and Simms later placed Ashland as the "Least-Missed Character" of 2022, writing:

"Maybe it was the fact that Young & Restless' Ashland didn't live up to his pre-introduction hype. Maybe it was that the part had to be recast mid-story. Or maybe it was that even in death, he remained the most talked about person in town. As the saying goes, 'How can I miss you if you won't actually leave?'"

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