The Young and the Restless Update: Summer leaves Genoa City for Milan and some fans wonder if Hunter King will be in the role when she returns

Will Hunter King replace Alison Lanier as Summer?

Fans of The Young and the Restless were blindsided by the announcement on Wednesday that Alison Lanier's last airdate as Summer Newman is Friday. The actress took over the role from Hunter King in March 2022 and over time viewers began to love her.

King left Y&R in October 2022 and has appeared in six Hallmark Movies. The last one, Holiday Love Story: A Chief's Touchdown, aired in 2024. When asked about returning to The Young and the Restless the actress said the following.

“People do come and go and paths seem to cross in the soap world,” she admitted to Soaps.SheKnows.com. “So never say never, but right now, I am just so incredibly happy and honored to be with Hallmark.”

Summer is left without assistants

At Society, Chelsea Newman (Melissa Claire Egan) has informed Summer that she is going to work at Newman Media with Adam Newman (Mark Grossman). Sally Spectra (Courtney Hope) has decided to work with Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson). This leaves Summer without any assistants, so she decides to travel to Milan

The Young and the Restless viewers are wondering if Summer will be replaced but there is no indication at this point. The series execs do not comment on cast changes so this will be a wait and see. This has not stopped some fans from wondering if King may return since she has not had any roles this year.

Summer's last day in Genoa City

Back at Society, Summer will tell Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) and Phyllis Summers ( Michelle Stafford) about her decision to immediately travel to Milan to find replacements for Sally and Chelsea. She says her goodbyes to her parents then goes to the Abbott mansion.

Summer will praise Diane Jenkins (Cynthia Watros) for the renovations to the Abbott home and announces to Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) and Harrison Abbott (Redding Munsell) that she’s headed to Milan that night.

Saying goodbye to Kyle and Harrison

Harrison asks if he adn Kyle can come along but Summer says business will keep her busy during this trip and suggests a family trip later. She will give her son a hug before he goes upstairs to get her a euro he saved as a gift for her trip. Kyle takes the opportunity to share his plan to move in with Claire Newman (Hayley Erin).

Summer will be caught off guard, so she asks Kyle to wait until she returns from Milan before telling Harrison. Kyle asks if he can give her a hug, and after embracing Kyle says he’ll see her when she returns to Genoa City. Summer's last scene is standing alone in the Abbott living room.

This sounds like Summer will come home soon, but if there are no recast plans, her stay might be extended. Perhaps she will decide to remain in Milan for a while to work. It's not likely that Summer will remain in Milan indefinitely but she might and Kyle will have to take Harrison for visits.

So long Summer, for now

The Young and the Restless writers have cheated Lanier out of proper closure. The storyline seems rushed, with Chelsea and Sally jumping ship simultaneously. There will be no Phyllis working with her daughter and clashing over every detail.

Viewers were also expecting to see Summer and Audra battling with Claire for Kyle's affection. Some fans say thos would have spiced things up because Kyle and Claire are boring. Best wishes to Alison Lanier in her future endeavors. Only time will tell whether Hunter King will return as Summer so fans should stay tuned for updates.