Josh Griffith, the architect of The Young and the Restless for the past seven years, is stepping down as the CBS soap’s head writer — the second significant role he has relinquished at the show in as many months.
Cast and crew at the long-running daytime drama were notified of Griffith’s plans on Friday. His departure is not immediate, and he will continue in the position while the show searches for a successor, though no replacement has been named. The series is on hiatus until July 6.
Griffith’s exit as head writer follows his decision earlier this year to step down as executive producer — a role he had held since 2023 — handing those responsibilities to Sally McDonald so he could concentrate exclusively on writing. The back-to-back departures mark a rapid unwinding of what had been one of daytime television’s most consolidated creative positions.
A seven-time Daytime Emmy winner, Griffith’s career in soap operas stretches back to 1988, when he joined NBC’s Santa Barbara as a writer. His credits include One Life to Live, where he rose to co-head writer and won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team, as well as As the World Turns and Days of Our Lives. He co-created Sunset Beach alongside General Hospital writer Robert Guza Jr. in 1997.
Griffith first joined The Young and the Restless in 2006, left in 2008, returned briefly in 2012, and then moved to Days of Our Lives before coming back to Genoa City in 2018 as supervising producer. He was elevated to head writer in 2019 following the departure of Mal Young.
His exit comes mid-stride on several of the show’s biggest running storylines, including Nikki Newman’s medical crisis, the return of Cane, and Diane’s kidnapping — all of which will continue to reflect Griffith’s work, given that daytime soaps are written months in advance.
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As recently as December, Griffith had spoken with optimism about what was ahead: “It’s going to be a very exciting, suspenseful, and romantic winter and spring,” he said. “We have some fun surprises up our sleeve for 2026.” Whoever takes the helm will inherit those promises.
