Seven-time Daytime Emmy winner Josh Griffith is stepping away from his role as head writer of The Young and the Restless.
The cast and crew of the long-running CBS soap were informed of the news yesterday, according to TV Insider. Griffith will remain with the series for the time being, though there’s no word yet on who will ultimately replace him.
Griffith’s daytime television career spans nearly four decades. He got his start as a writer on Santa Barbara in 1988 before moving to One Life to Live three years later as associate head writer.
In 1992, he was promoted to co-head writer alongside Michael Malone, and the duo earned a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team in 1994. Griffith departed the ABC soap the following year.
He went on to co-create Sunset Beach with veteran General Hospital writer Robert Guza Jr. in 1997. The Aaron Spelling-produced soap became the producer’s only venture into daytime television and aired on NBC until 1999. Griffith later reunited with Malone for a brief return to One Life to Live in 2003 before moving on to As the World Turns.
Griffith first arrived at The Young and the Restless in 2006 as a writer, later taking on co-executive producer duties before exiting in 2008. After another stint with the soap from 2012 to 2013, he joined Days of Our Lives as co-head writer, serving in the role from 2015 until 2016.
He returned to Genoa City once again in 2018 as supervising producer. When then-head writer Mal Young exited the series the following year, Griffith took over as head writer. He added executive producer to his résumé in 2023 before relinquishing those responsibilities last month, with Sally McDonald stepping in so he could devote his attention exclusively to writing.
Just last month, Griffith teased what fans could expect from the soap in 2026, telling 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.”
For now, Griffith remains in his post as head writer while CBS searches for his successor.
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS.
