Who do you think should play The Young and the Restless’ Summer Newman next?

If you’re like me, then you were completely caught off guard hearing the news that Allison Lanier is parting ways with The Young and the Restless, exiting the role of Summer. Not only that, but her final air date was May 2. I know show fans aren’t exactly strangers to quick departures from the soap, evidenced also by Trevor St. John’s exit as Tucker (I’m still holding out hope St. John returns), but Lanier leaving has served as quite the shock.

However, as shocked as I may be, as the saying goes, “Life goes on.” Although no official recasting news has been announced for the role of Summer yet, I have to think something is in the pipeline, especially given the character’s current arc. For example, with Claire (Hayley Erin) and Kyle (Michael Mealor) heating up, and Summer still in love with her ex, I anticipated that Summer would ramp up her efforts to destroy the relationship. Additionally, with Phyllis (Michael Stafford) continuing to spiral out of control, I assumed Summer would be a big part of helping her mom get back on track. Oh, and I can’t forget Harrison (Redding Munsell) would probably like to have his mom around.

So with all that being said, I’m hopeful a Summer recast is in the near future, and I have the perfect person for the job — General Hospital alum, Chloe Lanier. She was remarkable playing the crazed villain Nelle on the ABC soap, and demonstrated great range as the character evolved from the helpful and innocent newcomer to the desperate, scorned young woman out for revenge. Lanier even won a Daytime Emmy for her portrayal.

Now she’s been out of the soap world for a few years as a regular or recurring star, but returning as Summer on The Young and the Restless gives her ample opportunity for a big comeback. Plus, she already has a friend on the cast in Erin. Lanier and Erin both worked together on General Hospital when Erin was portraying Kiki Jerome, and have maintained a friendship, as evidenced by Lanier’s Instagram account. We can only imagine how fun it would be to see these real-life friends portraying rivals on The Young and the Restless.

With Lanier proving she has the acting chops, and having knowledge of her history with Erin, Lanier is my frontrunner for the new Summer Newman. It’s worth noting that I suspect Lanier would add a certain nuance to the role as well.

But this is just my take on the matter. What do you think? Is Lanier the perfect woman for the job, or do you have someone else in mind? Someone like the former Summer Newman, Hunter King.

New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.