Editing Guiding Light (section)

===1990s===
{{Main|Guiding Light (1990–1999)}}
With the new decade, the series' storytelling transitioned from Long's homespun style to a more realistic style with a new group of chief writers. The Bauer, Spaulding, Lewis, and Cooper families had been established as core families, and most major plot developments concerned them. The show generally held on in the middle of the pack as far as ratings went throughout the decade.

The show experienced a series of challenges in 1993, including the exit of three of the show's leading actresses – [[Beverlee McKinsey]], [[Kimberley Simms]], and [[Sherry Stringfield]] – within the space of a few months. In particular, McKinsey's Alexandra had been a catalyst for several stories. The decision to kill off the character of Maureen Bauer proved deeply unpopular with the audience, and is often cited as one of the show's biggest mistakes.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tvinsider.com/2674/young-and-the-restless-jill-farren-phelps-chuck-pratt-interview-part-1/ | title=The Most Polarizing Pair in Soaps: Execs Jill Farren Phelps and Chuck Pratt on the State of the Young and the Restless | date=May 7, 2015 }}</ref>

Executive producer [[Jill Farren Phelps]] cast a number of actors she'd worked with at other shows, particularly at ''Santa Barbara'', in new roles at GL. Among them: [[Justin Deas]], in the role of long lost Cooper patriarch Buzz; and [[Marj Dusay]] as the new actress to play Alexandra Spaulding.

In 1994, the show brought former ''Santa Barbara'' actress [[Marcy Walker]] to the canvas to play antiheroine Tangie Hill, but the pairing of Tangie with Josh Lewis proved unpopular, and Walker decided not to renew her contract<ref>HIRSCH, LYNDA. "SABATINO OF 'B&B' A SOAP VETERAN." Sun-Sentinel 29 Jul. 1995, ALL, LIFESTYLE: 4D. NewsBank. Web. 3 Jul. 2013.</ref>

In 1995, ''Guiding Light'' brought back fan favorite Nola Chamberlain, played by [[Lisa Brown (actress)|Lisa Brown]]. However, Nola returning to the canvas on her own without husband Quinton Chamberlain was unpopular with viewers. Soap opera veteran [[Mary Stuart (actress)|Mary Stuart]] joined the cast in 1996 as Meta Bauer (though referred to many times over the years, the character originally played by [[Ellen Demming]] had not been seen onscreen since 1974); the character remained on the show until Stuart's death during 2002.

As the decade progressed, ''Guiding Light'' began to feature stories with more outlandish plot twists, seemingly to compete with shows like ''[[Passions]]'' and ''[[Days of Our Lives]]''.
A number of these stories involved the character of Reva Shayne, played by [[Kim Zimmer]]. Reva had been presumed dead for the previous five years, after having driven her car off of a bridge and into the water off the [[Florida Keys]].

The outlandish plots for Reva included her time as an amnesiac Amish woman, the former queen of San Cristobel, and a story where Reva experienced time travel. The most notable of these plot twists was when Josh, believing again that Reva had died, had her cloned.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://soaps.sheknows.com/soaps/news/605739/guiding-light-clone-reva-dolly-dies-anniversary/ | title=Almost a Quarter of a Century After the End of One of Daytime's Wildest Plots, We Reevaluate its Heartbreaking Conclusion — and Rank Soaps' All-Time Craziest Storylines in a New Photo Album | date=August 11, 2021 }}</ref>