Josh Griffith has stepped down as head writer of The Young and the Restless, and the show has not named a replacement. The departure, which was relayed to the cast and crew on June 26, ends his run in the top writing job after he had held it since 2019.
The timing matters because Griffith was still pointing viewers toward a busy stretch ahead. At the start of the year, he told TV Insider the stories would be jam-packed with intrigue, mystery, suspense and love, and that the show had fun surprises up its sleeve for 2026. Those promises now land against a change in leadership that has not yet been filled.
Griffith's exit also closes the latest chapter in a long relationship with the soap. He first worked on The Young and the Restless from 2006 to 2008, returned from 2012 to 2013, and later wrote for Days of our Lives in 2015 before another stint back on the CBS drama. He became head writer in 2019 and executive producer in 2023, giving him a central role in both the stories on screen and the operation behind them.
Before this departure, Griffith had already stepped back from his production duties in May, and Sally McDonald took over those responsibilities. That left the head writer post as the final open piece, and it is still open now. For a daytime soap that depends on continuity, the lack of a named successor is the real story: The Young and the Restless is moving ahead without saying who will steer its writing room next.
Over the years, Griffith introduced Claire Newman and Audra Charles and brought Matt Clark back into the mix, signs of a writer who was still shaping the canvas even late in his run. His career stretches back to 1988, when he began as a writer for Santa Barbara, and includes work on One Life to Live, As the World Turns and Days of our Lives. For now, though, the question is not what he built over decades. It is who will be asked to carry it forward.
