Two months since it was revealed that the role of Summer Newman was being recast, “The Young and the Restless” has officially hired daytime newcomer Allison Lanier who will make her on-screen debut later next month on the drama series. She takes over the role last played by Hunter King (“Life in Pieces,” “Hollywood Heights”).
Word of Lanier’s casting comes just as Summer’s better half, Kyle Abbott, is set to return to Genoa City beginning Monday, April 25 with Michael Mealor reprising the role. Kyle’s return is centered on the revelation that his long believed to be dead mother, Diane Jenkins (Susan Walters), is actually alive and that she faked her death years earlier despite a lengthy investigation by the GCPD to determine who killed her as her death had been ruled a homicide at the time. The culprit ended up being Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) who was later exonerated for the crime as she was able to prove she “killed” Diane in self-defense. In recent episodes, Diane explained she faked her death in order to escape from her actions during that period. At the time, the role of Diane was played by Maura West (now Ava Jerome on “General Hospital”).
On the Monday, April 18 episode of “The Talk,” Peter Bergman who plays Jack Abbott, Kyle’s father, teased “[Kyle] and I are probably not going to see eye to eye on the best way to handle this thing [referring to Diane]. I think there is going to be a lot of tension there.” Thankfully with Summer presumably by his side, Kyle should be able to figure out the best way to handle this life-changing situation stronger than ever before.
Prior to making her broadcast television debut as Summer on “Y&R,” Lanier previously recurred in the Amazon Original series “Red Oaks,” playing the role of Annabelle in six episodes of the series. She was also featured in “It Happened in L.A.,” an official selection screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017. More recently, the actress appeared in the indie films “Mia” and “Fish Bones.”
In addition to acting, Lanier is also an artist who most recently resided in Brooklyn, New York before relocating to Los Angeles. You can follow her on Instagram @allisonvlanier.