[2] The plot involved Hope Adams' decision to carry Victor's child to term despite the possibility that he could inherit his mother's blindness, which could manifest later in life.

[2][3] Adam was first portrayed in 1995 by infant actors, including twins Celeste and Coryn Williams, followed by Danielle and Sabrina Helper and then Spencer Klass.

[19] Upon the news of his casting, the actor told TV Guide: "I'm so pumped about joining Y&R — I watch it all the time and can't wait to get in there and get my hands dirty!

"[1][20] In 2016, it was announced that Hartley had been cast in a regular role on the NBC drama series This Is Us, which was picked up by the network, placing his future with The Young and the Restless into question.

"[29] Engen said that he thought that former executive producers, Maria Arena Bell and Paul Rauch, and the writers "know what they're doing, and right now it would seem like Adam is instigating more ... drama."

[34] Adam stole Sharon's newborn baby, Faith, and gave her to Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson)—whom he caused to have a miscarriage and a phantom pregnancy.

[46] However, Sharon ended their relationship shortly after learning of Adam's role in freeing Patty—who went on to wreak havoc and hurt loved ones—from a psychiatric hospital two years earlier.

[52] As of June 2022, Adam (Mark Grossman) was in a relationship with Sally Spectra played by (Courtney Hope), whom he still have feelings for and is currently expecting with his fourth child and his first daughter.

"[10][53][54] When news broke of Engen's exit from the show, reporters speculated that he had quit because of personal objections over an upcoming same-sex relationship between Adam and Rafe Torres (Yani Gellman).

"[55][60] After the controversy surrounding his departure from the show, Engen posted a message on his Myspace page stating he had been unhappy with Adam's storyline long before the homosexual plot twist had emerged.

Whether he was demanding changes in the Daytime Emmy nomination process, or getting into fights with his TV pappy on Twitter, one thing was for certain — Muhney always brought it on screen as bad seed Adam Newman.

"[66] TMZ later reported that angered viewers had paid US$785 to have an airplane fly over CBS Studios in Los Angeles with a banner to have Muhney rehired,[67] and the plane flew three days later.

In 2009, Adam becomes friends with Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson), who continuously hears a baby crying and finds things supposedly left for her by Sabrina, who is dead.

Adam is jailed again but gets the insane Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk) to help him escape to attend a masquerade ball, where he unsuccessfully begs Sharon for forgiveness.

Adam again takes over at Newman Enterprises when Victor falsely confesses to the murder and later reunites with Sharon, but she leaves him again when his scheme against Patty is revealed.

Adam later befriends Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan) and they begin dating in April 2012, later eloping to Kansas where Sharon tries to stop the wedding.

After he is reinstated as chief executive officer at Newman Enterprises and shares a kiss with Sharon, Adam promises Chelsea they can move to Paris, but when he cannot leave the company they decide to divorce.

He names Jack Connor's godfather and makes him promise to protect him should anything happen to him, and then proposes to Chelsea again and asks her to move to Paris with him like they had planned during their first marriage.

Under the alias of Gabriel, Adam returns to Genoa City married to Sage to claim Gabe's inheritance from Constance Bingham and avoid law enforcement after he killed Billy's daughter.

Adam and Chelsea slowly begin to piece their lives back together with plans to relocate to Paris, until Victor stepped in to sue for custody of Connor, keeping them in Genoa City.

Later, Victor catches onto them and makes a surprise visit to their hotel room, where he revealed to Sharon that Adam is confirmed alive and survived the explosion at the cabin.

Adam makes a deal with Kevin, if he wants to be reunited with Chloe he needs to work for him to find dirt on Nick as leverage to use it against him in the custody battle for Christian.

A few weeks later, a receives a cryptic message from an unknown person telling him to meet him at a roadside and when he arrives Billy comes speeding out with a car in an attempt to kill him.

Adam is now under the impression that this attempted hit and run was from the machinations of Victor since he gave him a warning to leave town a couple weeks prior to this event.

However, their plan ends up backfiring on them when Adam frames Victoria for it by placing Nate's tablet that included all of Victor's vital health information on it, in her office desk.

Chelsea pasts comes back to haunt her when a man by the name of Simon Black (Jeffrey Vincent Parise) arrives in Genoa City claiming to be her late husband, Calvin, brother and wanted all the money he left her.

"[28] Muhney's performance in the role, has been met with critical acclaim, having garnered him his first nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2013.

[82] Writing for Music Times, Cate Meighan observed that Muhney's performance kept "longtime fans glued to their television", noting that ratings dropped following his exit.

[87] In 2022, Charlie Mason from Soaps She Knows placed Adam 20th on his list of the best 25 characters from The Young and the Restless, commenting "Good and bad have no meaning, really, for Victor's younger son.

As a result, whether he's been played by Michael Muhney, Justin Hartley or Mark Grossman, we’ve been riveted, poised on the fine line between rooting for and against the schemer.