“The Young and the Restless” gets a major change behind the scenes as the show’s longtime head writer, Josh Griffith, exits.
According to TV Insider, Griffith made the choice to step down from his head-writing role, and the cast members were made aware of it on June 26.
The move comes less than two months after Griffith stepped down from his other role as the show’s co-executive producer to focus on his writing duties.
Josh Griffith’s Long History With ‘The Young & the Restless’
CBSGriffith, who is a seven-time Daytime Emmy winner, started his career in soap operas at NBC’s “Santa Barbara” in 1988 and landed at ABC’s “One Life to Live” following his exit from the show in 1991.
He was promoted as co-head writer before leaving in 1995. Griffith then co-created “Sunset Beach,” which aired on NBC from 1997 to 1999.
“One Life to Live” brought him back as co-head writer from 2003 to 2004, before he ultimately joined CBS’s “As the World Turns.”
In 2006, Griffith joined “The Young and the Restless” as a creative consultant and was soon promoted as the show’s co-executive producer.
He left in 2008 and became the co-head writer of “Days of Our Lives” from 2015 to 2016.
Griffith returned to “Y&R” as supervising producer, eventually resuming duties as head writer in 2019.
Griffith handled double duties as head writer and executive producer from 2023 to 2025. Sally McDonald joined him as co-executive producer last year.
The shocking resignation of Griffith is not effective immediately, and there is no word yet on who will take over his role.
Big Changes on Major CBS Soaps
CBSIn May, Soap Central reported that Griffith is stepping down from his role as the executive producer of “The Young and the Restless.”
At the time, Griffith reportedly made the decision so he could focus solely on writing for the long-running CBS soap.
McDonald took over his role and now serves as the show’s sole executive producer.
“The Young and the Restless” isn’t the only CBS soap that has undergone a major shakeup behind the scenes.
In 2025, “The Bold and the Beautiful” marked a historic milestone by promoting Casey Kasprzyk to executive producer. The appointment was the CBS daytime drama’s first executive leadership change in nearly three decades.
CBSKasprzyk became just the fourth executive producer in the show’s 38-year history. Series creators William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell served as executive producers together for nearly eight years before their son, Bradley Bell, succeeded them in 1996.
“Twenty-two years ago, Casey Kasprzyk joined ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ at the front desk,” Bell said in a statement at the time. “Since then, Casey has flourished in every level of production.”
Kasprzyk joined “The Bold and the Beautiful” in 2003 and was promoted to associate producer five years later. In 2014, he advanced to supervising producer, a position he held before being named executive producer.
Throughout his tenure on the CBS soap, Kasprzyk has earned four Daytime Emmy Awards in recognition of his work.
