Josh Griffith has stepped down as head writer of The Young and the Restless at the end of June, closing a run that began in 2019. Cast and crew were told on June 26, and no replacement has been announced.
The change matters because Griffith had also been executive producer since 2023, though he stepped back from those production duties in May and Sally McDonald took over. That left the show’s creative chain of command shifting in stages, with the writing job now open and the production side already reassigned.
Griffith’s exit comes after a long return to the soap that helped define much of his career. He first worked on The Young and the Restless from 2006 to 2008, came back from 2012 to 2013, wrote for DAYS in 2015, and had been back in charge since 2019. Before that, he started in daytime in 1988 on Santa Barbara, later wrote for One Life to Live, As the World Turns, and Days of our Lives, and co-created Sunset Beach with Bob Guza in 1997.
His recent stretch on Y&R had also been marked by new and returning story pieces, including Claire Newman, Audra Charles and Matt Clark. That is what makes the timing awkward: at the beginning of the year, Griffith said 2026 would be packed with intrigue, mystery, suspense and love, with fun surprises planned for the year. Instead, he was out of the head writer chair by the end of June.
The unresolved piece is the simplest one. With Sally McDonald already handling production duties and no named successor in place, The Young and the Restless is now looking for the person who will shape the scripts after Griffith’s exit. Until that name is announced, the show’s biggest change is not what viewers will see on screen, but who is steering it behind the scenes.
Josh Griffith Y&R Exit leaves The Young and the Restless without a named successor.
