Genevieve Atkinson is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Created by former head writer Maria Arena Bell as the mother of Cane Ashby (Daniel Goddard), the role was portrayed by Genie Francis, who is widely known for her three-decade long portrayal of Laura Spencer on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. Francis was excited to join The Young and the Restless, expressing disappointment in her former daytime role and saying that her fan base would "follow whatever she does." She made her first appearance during the episode airing on May 27, 2011.
Francis described Genevieve as harsh, saying her tragic past is the reason she acts this way. Her first storyline involved the revelation of her past with Colin Atkinson (Tristan Rogers), as she was intertwined with his life as a mob boss. The character would later develop a romance with Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), which Francis hoped would give the audience "more insight into who this woman really is". Their relationship ends after Genevieve lied to Jack about a business deal she made. She also had a brief affair with Jack's business rival Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), which both their families criticized, and was revealed to have had a past with Tucker McCall (Stephen Nichols).
In September 2012, Francis was let go from the soap opera due to budgetary cuts. The actress stated she was disappointed to leave, but that executive producer Jill Farren Phelps was "very kind" in breaking the news to her. She made her last appearance on November 2, 2012. While the news of Francis' casting in the role was positively received, the actress received generally negative reviews for her portrayal, with Jamey Giddens of Zap2it calling it "embarrassingly-bad". Sara Bibel of Xfinity wrote that the character was not an "audience favorite", feeling that the written material was not on par with Francis' strengths as an actress. Despite negative feedback, Francis received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal in 2012.
Casting
In February 2011, Francis, a soap opera "legend", reunited with her former onscreen husband, Anthony Geary, during the "Soap Opera Spectacular" episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Both Francis and Geary were part of the supercouple pairing of Luke and Laura on the ABC Daytime soap opera General Hospital. When questioned by show host Oprah Winfrey if Francis would ever reprise the role of Laura Spencer, she revealed: "I would like her to be funny and have a little bit of an agenda that might look a little bit vengeful, but it really isn’t. I think she’d have a plan. If there is a way to go forward with Laura and make her into what I'd like her to be now, then perhaps I would do it. There is nothing in me that is willing to play a victim anymore. I’m sort of done with the wounded dove in my life."
A month later in March 2011, it was announced that Francis had landed the newly created role of the mother of Daniel Goddard's character, Cane Ashby, on The Young and the Restless. The casting would reunite her with several of her former General Hospital alumni, including Tristan Rogers, Stephen Nichols, Judith Chapman and Kin Shriner. In a statement on how she received the newly created role, Francis revealed that Maria Arena Bell, the series' executive producer and head writer, called her (having seen her appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show) and offered her a role personally, to which Francis accepted.
Francis also expressed her disappointment in her former daytime role on General Hospital. She said that she has found that her "fan base will follow" her whatever she does. She explained that, "My job is not to disappoint [My fans], not to cheat them. And I feel like the last little appearance on GH cheated them. I welcome the opportunity to do something new to continue to entertain my audience. What I loved about Laura—and what people loved about Laura—is that she is a terrific memory, but it’s just not there anymore." Soap Opera Digest later confirmed the character's name to be Genevieve Atkinson. Co-head writer of The Young and the Restless, Scott Hamner, stated that the role was going to be a "very, very different character than we've seen Genie Francis portray". Bell opened up about hiring Francis, revealing: "Genie is amazing and a real pro. I put pen and paper and she ran with it. She is really a brave, courageous actress" and added that "It really has been fantastic to watch, and I think she is terrific."
Prior to her onscreen debut, Francis appeared on the CBS talk show The Talk and stated that she "would not have this job without Oprah Winfrey", saying: "I must thank Oprah Winfrey here and now. I would not have this job without her. She made my dream come true as well." In August 2011, Francis began experiencing lack of screen-time, leading viewers to speculate she had been let go from the soap opera and possibly returning to her General Hospital role. However, a spokesperson for The Young and the Restless confirmed that Francis was simply taking a brief hiatus to film a sequel to her Hallmark Channel film The Note.
Development Characterization
Francis characterized Genevieve as "harsh", attesting this quality to her past tragedy. In an interview with AOL, Francis said that, "Although tragic things have happened to her, she is not tragic." Michael Fairman of On-Air On-Soaps described Genevieve as an "eerie bitch". Jamey Giddens of Zap2it described her as "kooky" and "The Pervy-Odd Mob Mama". The soap opera's official website describes her relationship with Colin Atkinson (Tristan Rogers) as "twisted" and "confusing". Genevieve was considerably "darker" than the role of Laura Spencer on General Hospital, which Francis loved. She said, "It's so freeing to let your dark side shine for a minute and when you do a scene when you've been really evil, when the scene ends, you laugh. It's just fun."
Despite her history with Colin, the character happily pursued a romantic relationship with Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman). Speaking about the relationship, Francis stated: "I would like to continue to work with him because he is just so good, and Peter is so nice. I did do a couple scenes with him that I was really proud of, and they were right before the two of them make love for the first time. There were two scenes where Genevieve bares her soul to him. And through that, the audience hopefully got more insight into who this woman really is."
Genevieve ultimately damaged and destroyed her relationship with Jack after purchasing "Beauty of Nature" using her holding company, ForgetMeNot. Jack was previously working to take over this company, and broke up their engagement, suing her for fraud. Genevieve later told Jack that she will give him Beauty of Nature if he would give their relationship another try, but this did not work out. Genevieve has also had a rivalry with Jill Abbott (Jess Walton); as Jill previously believed she was Cane's mother.
Departure In September 2012, following the hiring of former General Hospital executive producer Jill Farren Phelps onto the series, Francis was let go from the soap opera due to budgetary cuts from Sony Pictures Television and CBS. Phelps had previously stated that there would be cast changes to the series due to monetary reasons. When asked specifically about reports indicating Francis' dismissal, she said: "Genie and I had a wonderful talk when I came to Y&R and I think we're really quite fond of each other. She's a magnificent actress." Despite confirmations that the actress' dismissal was due to budgetary reasons, Jillian Bowe of Zap2it reported a rumor that "the veteran's tenure on the show wasn't well-received by the brass at CBS and Sony". Sara Bibel of Xfinity reported another rumor about her dismissal, saying it was "no secret" that Francis and Phelps "did not get along" while both worked on General Hospital, and that "few are surprised that the two were not eager to work together again".
After news broke of Francis' exit, several sources, including Entertainment Weekly, TVLine and TVSource, speculated that Francis would be returning to her General Hospital role. Francis made her final appearance on November 2, 2012. When asked how she heard she was let go from The Young and the Restless from Phelps, Francis said that she had no hard feelings, stating that she observed Phelps to be "mortified". She explained: "There are no bad feelings. Look, she's a very accomplished, powerful producer and she couldn’t get there by being petty and bitchy. Her back is to the wall. She had to cut people out because she had to balance her budget." In January 2013, Francis returned to the role of Laura Spencer on General Hospital.
Storylines In May 2011, Genevieve arrives in Genoa City with her presumed dead son, Cane Ashby (Daniel Goddard), who is posing as his actually dead twin brother, Caleb. Genevieve and her son are working against Colin Atkinson (Tristan Rogers), her husband and Cane's father, who she believes murdered her daughter by Colin, Samantha. Genevieve later lures Colin to her home where she set up a shrine for Samantha and tries to push him off a balcony because he was abducting their grandchildren, Charlie and Mattie Ashby. Colin is saved from his fall by his wife, Jill Abbott Fenmore (Jess Walton), and at the hospital it is revealed that Colin and Genevieve are still legally married, invalidating his marriage to Jill. Genevieve attempts to bond with Charlie and Mattie, however, Cane's wife Lily Winters (Christel Khalil) is against that as she believes her mother-in-law is dangerous. Colin is put in prison, and his marriage to Genevieve legally ends thereafter. Genevieve then starts flirting with Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), leading to a relationship, and Jack also hires her at Jabot Cosmetics. Later, Colin locks Genevieve in the wine cellar at her home, planning an explosion that would kill her and Gloria Bardwell (Judith Chapman). The explosion goes awry when Lily and Genevieve’s unseen housekeeper, Myrna Murdock, ends up as the explosion’s victim. Colin is arrested and deported back to Australia. Myrna is revealed to be Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk), Jack's ex-wife who is still obsessed with him. She (Myrna/Patty) claims she is shy following the explosion and refuses to show her face in public. Soon after, Jack proposes to Genevieve and she accepts, enraging Patty.