Sneak Peek: ‘The Young and the Restless’ Gives Nick Newman a Sleek New Office! (PHOTOS)

Joshua Morrow of Young and the Restless
Exclusive
Sonja Flemming/CBS Photo

Joshua Morrow, who plays Nick Newman on CBS’ The Young and the Restless, has got not only a hot new storyline, but he’s getting to play it out in a brand-new set!

As regular viewers have witnessed, Nick, a former co-owner of Crimson Lights coffee shop, has founded a new company, Dark Horse, in response to his father, Victor (Eric Braeden), being a control freak one too many times!

It was Victor trying to take Nick’s son Christian away from him that sent Morrow’s character to the dark side.

“My favorite part of this story is that Nick’s trying not to be like his father,” Morrow says. “Yet he doesn’t see that sometimes he’s behaving just like his dad.”

While new sets on soaps are rare in today’s budget-conscious times, Y&R charged the show’s production designer, David Hoffman, with the task of coming up with an office that shows Nick in his new element.

Like the company name, there is some darkness to Nick’s penthouse suite. “Even though there are dark accents, the ceiling in Nick’s office is a big light box,” Hoffman says. “It’s literally a contrast of dark and light.”

(Sonja Flemming/CBS)

You won’t see a portrait of Nick hanging in his office like the one Victor has of himself at Newman Enterprises because Nick doesn’t see himself in such a grandiose way. Instead a monitor with the Dark Horse logo hangs above Nick’s office sofa.

“I highly doubt the giant portrait [of Nick] will get in the picture rotation, but time will tell,” says Morrow.

What viewers do see behind Nick’s desk is his framed higher education degree from Genoa City University. His freshman year of college was interrupted after being charged with the attempted murder of his rival, but Nick must have squeezed in getting the necessary credits to graduate at some point.

(Sonja Flemming/CBS)

Before entering Nick’s office, visitors have to get past his reception area where the luckiest extra in soaps (if not all of Hollywood) sits. It’s also a place where other scenes can play out by characters who are there to visit Nick.

“There are four different zones,” shares Morrow, referring to the elevator banks, the reception area, Nick’s office, and the conference room that comprise Dark Horse. “[The set] is going to provide a different way of shooting scenes, the aesthetics alone. It’s a cool looking set.”

(Sonja Flemming/CBS)

“We want to get a sense of scale so [we] have Nick’s office off the reception area with a big glass wall dividing it,” Hoffman says. “At the same time, Nick has his privacy.”

Hoffman selected a few pieces of orange furniture for both the reception area and the conference room (not shown) to contrast the stark colors of the set.

“There are areas that are fairly monochromatic. We wanted some areas that were a relief from that. I really wanted to add some pops of color.”

Watch for the Dark Horse set to debut sometime next week. “We’re lucky in that we’ve been pursuing updating the look of the show over the last few years,” Hoffman adds.

For Morrow, a five-time Daytime Emmy-nominee for his run as Nick, what’s even better than the new digs is the story in which Nick’s going to emerge a darker character.

“I have not been this excited in a long time,” he says. “I see such potential with Nick [this way]. I’ve been wanting this for 15 years. I’m looking forward to seeing how far the producers can take this. I’m excited about the future. [This set] isn’t just about Nick. It involves a lot of people.”

The Young and the Restless, weekdays, CBS