Seven-time Daytime Emmy winner Josh Griffith will step down as head writer of “The Young & The Restless,” with cast and crew informed Friday. He will remain in the role for now as the series heads into its hiatus until July 6.
Josh Griffith is stepping away from his post as head writer of “The Young & The Restless.” The cast and crew were notified of his plans on Friday, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation.
Griffith’s departure will not be immediate. For the time being, he will continue in the role while the show is on hiatus until July 6, a window that will likely require the search for a replacement well before the series returns.
Griffith is a seven-time Daytime Emmy winner, and his career spans some of daytime television’s best-known titles. He previously worked on “Days of Our Lives,” “As the World Turns,” and “Sunset Beach,” among others. He also co-created “Sunset Beach” with “General Hospital” writer Robert Guza, Jr., in 1997. That Aaron Spelling-produced series aired on NBC until 1999.
His work history with “The Young and the Restless” runs in chapters. He joined the show in 2006 as a writer. left in 2008. returned in 2012. and departed again for “Days of Our Lives” in 2015. where he served as co-head writer until 2016. He went back to “The Young & The Restless” in 2018 and was promoted to head writer in 2018. In 2023, he was named executive producer, a role he stepped down from in 2025.
In December. while looking ahead to the show’s upcoming year. Griffith told TV Insider. “You’ve got to just keep that momentum going. It’s going to be a very exciting, suspenseful, and romantic winter and spring. It’s going to be jam-packed with intrigue, mystery, suspense, and love. We have some fun surprises up our sleeve for 2026.”.
CBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TV Insider first reported the news.
The timing lands on a moment when “The Young & The Restless” is already away from viewers. but production and planning won’t stop. The hiatus until July 6 gives Griffith time to remain in place for now. while the show’s next writing leadership becomes the question hanging over the weeks ahead—especially with an in-the-works. suspense-heavy slate he already promised audiences for 2026.
Josh Griffith The Young & The Restless head writer Daytime Emmy CBS TV Insider Sunset Beach Days of Our Lives Robert Guza Jr
Wait so he’s leaving but the show’s on hiatus anyway? Kinda confusing lol.
Seven-time Emmy winner stepping down sounds like CBS is messing with the writing again. Like they can’t leave good stuff alone.
I read somewhere he co-created Sunset Beach with that Robert Guza guy… so does this mean he’s done with soaps in general? Or just Young and Restless. Seems like same thing to me.
So he “will remain in the role for now” until July 6 but they already gotta search for a replacement before it comes back? That’s backwards. Also everyone keeps talking about 2026 romantic winter spring surprises like nothing else matters… meanwhile characters are gonna get rerouted or something. I swear these shows always lose the plot right after a big head writer changes.