JPI

Nick and Sharon are heating up on "The Young and the Restess."

These past few weeks, we haven't been able to get enough of "The Young and the Restless." Like we'd sit awake at night thinking about how good it is. And now we know we're not the only ones with a bad case of Genoa City fever.

According to Soap Opera Network, "Y&R" gained 447,000 total viewers for the week of January 26 - 30, bringing their Nielsen rating to a solid 4.0. That's pretty incredible, even for the show that's been the No. 1 rated soap since 1988 (that's more than 1,000 weeks, people!).

So, why the sudden boom? Well, let's take a look back ... First of all, these were some of Don Diamont's final episodes. The popular actor played ladies' man/business tycoon Brad Carlton since 1984 -- and any self-respecting fan, past or present, would have wanted to tune in to find out his fate.

Also, the stage was being set for a much-anticipated reunion between first loves Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) and Sharon Collins (Sharon Case). Nick's wife, Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), had been scheming to keep them apart for months, and a lot of fans were looking forward to her comeuppance just as much as Nick and Sharon's hookup.