The Young and the Restless’ Joshua Morrow unpacks the aftermath of Nick’s shocking overdose

The Young and the Restless actor Joshua Morrow is doing some of the best work of his career as his character Nick continues to battle his painkiller addiction. Now, the actor is speaking out on Nick's overdose and what's coming next.

The Nick of Time, The Young and the Restless

Nick likes his pills on The Young and the Restless, but they don't like him! | Image: CBS

Morrow broke down Nick's journey to TV Insider. "Nick has always been loose and confident and had a carefree attitude about a lot of things," Morrow said.

All that changed when he took drugs following surgery to correct his injured leg after he was in a car wreck caused by his longtime enemy, Matt Clark (Roger Howarth). Things got worse, maybe a little better (when he was taking pills), and then, they got worse. Much worse.

Morrow admits that the story wasn't very "Nick-ish," but he's a team player, and he stepped up, meeting the challenge as Nick faces the fight of his life.

He was concerned that the fans might not take to it as they don't like to see heroes fall, but the actor has enjoyed playing this tale. Morrow is aware just how dangerous fentanyl is, and he's hoping that he is presenting the problem as authentically as possible.

Morrow says the scenes in which Nick fessed up to his family members about his addiction were especially heartbreaking. He considers TV father Eric Braeden (Victor) to be like a real dad. It was heartbreaking when Nick had to tell his dad he was a druggie.

Confession time

Nick told Nikki that he was hooked on drugs on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

Telling Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and Victoria (Amelia Heinle) was tough, too. Morrow said he rose to the material by dropping any inhibitions he may have had, and he just went for it.

Nick almost lost his life, but now, it appears, he has another chance. What are his options? The actor observes that Nick knows he finally has to do something; if he doesn't, he'll die.

Nick almost perished in Victor's office when he had an overdose. Ironically, Matt Clark ended up saving Nick's life. Will this twist keep Matt out of jail? The Newmans may be grateful to the bad guy for stepping in. Would Matt have done that if he didn't have amnesia? We may never know. The Newmans aren't that grateful to Matt yet. Victor made sure that his security squad took Matt to the ranch.

Watch for Nick to go to an AA meeting so that he can deal with his problem. He preferred not to rehearse those scenes, preferring to make it a "one-shot deal."

The material has been both challenging and rewarding. Morrow says he feels honored by having been given this material. He's proud of both the scenes and his coworkers. Morrow teases that Nick's not going to receive a quick fix. His journey is ongoing.

Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus.