‘Young & the Restless’: What Do You Think of Billy Flynn as the New Cane Ashby? (POLL)

Avery Thompson June 24, 2025, 9:45 am

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Billy Flynn and Daniel Goddard as Cane Ashby on 'The Young and the Restless' — Howard Wise / XJ Johnson / jpistudios.com

Billy Flynn made his grand entrance as the new Cane Ashby during the June 20 episode of The Young and the Restless. The Days of Our Lives star took over the role made famous by Daniel Goddard, who is now over on General Hospital.

Cane’s return was masked in mystery. Many of Genoa City’s best, including Victor (Eric Braeden), Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), Sharon (Sharon Case), Billy (Jason Thompson), Nick (Joshua Morrow), Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), Devon (Bryton James), and Lily (Christel Khalil), descended upon the property of the enigmatic “Aristotle Dumas” for an intimate gathering. While everyone thought they were meeting the man of the hour, Cane shocked them all with his big reveal.

Before he told the other guests, Cane made sure to have a private moment alone with his former flame, Lily. He wanted to explain the Dumas situation to Lily before the others. “I created Dumas. The name is a lie. But he is all me,” Cane said.

Naturally, Victor figured out Cane was Aristotle Dumas before everyone else. However, Victor and everyone else still have many questions about Cane and what he’s been up to for the past six years.

The role of Cane was originated by Goddard, who made his debut on Y&R in 2007. Cane was later to be the son of Phillip Chancellor II (Donnelly Rhodes) and Jill Abbott (Jess Walton). Cane became a fan favorite character on the soap, and his romance with Lily reached supercouple status.

'Young and the Restless': Christel Khalil Urges Fans to Give the New Lily and Cane a Chance (Exclusive)

Goddard was fired from Y&R in 2011, and his character was killed off. After immense backlash from fans, Y&R rehired Goddard. In a true soap twist, the writers circumnavigated Cane’s demise by writing that Cane’s identical twin brother, Caleb, had died and not Cane.

Before the character’s return, Cane was last seen on Y&R in 2019. Flynn acknowledged the differences between him and Goddard. “Essentially, we’re going to rebrand [him] a bit, so they have a closer age range, and I don’t have a sexy accent,” he told TV Insider. “I can’t replicate it, so I’m going to do my thing. When people see this Cane and the relationship that I have as Cane with Lily, I think they’ll be happy.”

In a separate interview, Khalil encouraged fans to give Flynn a “chance” as the new Cane. “The point was to make this character something completely different,” she told TV Insider. “And so hopefully people give it a chance and look at it like a new relationship rather than like an old one coming back.”

So, are you enjoying Billy Flynn’s portrayal of Cane? Do you miss Daniel Goddard? Vote in our poll below, and sound off in the comments on the recasting.

The Young and the Restless, Weekdays, CBS