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Young and the Restless Headwriters


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Pretty easy, there weren't that many, via the archives...

March 26, 1973 - 1997

William J. Bell

1997 - 1998

William J. Bell and Kay Alden

1998 - 2000

Kay Alden

2000 - August 18, 2000

Kay Alden, John F. Smith, Jerry Birn

August 21, 2000 - February 1, 2002

Kay Alden, John F. Smith, Jerry Birn, Trent Jones

February 4, 2002 - June 28, 2002

Kay Alden, Jerry Birn, Trent Jones

July 1, 2002 - August 5, 2004

Kay Alden, John F. Smith, Jerry Birn, Trent Jones

August 6, 2004 - February 15, 2006

Kay Alden and John F. Smith

February 16, 2006 - October 25, 2006

Kay Alden, Lynn Marie Latham, John F. Smith

October 26, 2006 - November 10, 2006

Kay Alden, Lynn Marie Latham, John F. Smith, and Scott Hamner (Co-Head Writer)

November 13, 2006 - December 22, 2006

Kay Alden, Lynn Marie Latham and Scott Hamner (Co-Head Writer)

December 26, 2006 - December 24, 2007

Lynn Marie Latham and Scott Hamner (Co-Head Writer)

December 26, 2007 - April 14, 2008

Josh Griffith (Interim Head Writer) and Maria Arena Bell (Co-Head Writer)

April 15, 2008 - April 21, 2008

Josh Griffith (Interim Head Writer), Maria Arena Bell (Co-Head Writer) and Scott Hamner (Co-Head Writer)

April 22, 2008 - May 9, 2008

Maria Arena Bell and Scott Hamner (Co-Head Writer)

May 12, 2008 - July 14, 2008

Maria Arena Bell

July 15, 2008 - August 8, 2008

Maria Arena Bell and Hogan Sheffer (Co-Head Writer)

August 11, 2008 - Present

Maria Arena Bell and Hogan Sheffer (Co-Head Writer) and Scott Hamner (Co-Head Writer)

Birn was never officially headwriter, as was Trent Jones. They served as co-heads/lead associate head writers...

John F. Smith really became headwriter in late 2002, Kay Alden had to serve for him even thoiugh she was credited first.

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Thanks everyone. I still find it kinda shocking how Kay Alden was edged out. I guess ratings had started to fall under her (but ratings were falling everywhere), but fans still seemed to respect and enjoy most of her writing, and she essentially had been Bell's right hand (wo)man since the late 70s--it just seems like such a sad decision.

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I agree. Edging out Kay Alden was a big mistake and the show still hasn't recovered. I liked Jack Smith, too, but I felt the show became a little too dark (however, he was going through tough times from what I remember). And wasn't it Smith who virtually axed all of the recurring side characters like Lynne and Gina? Or was that Latham?

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Smith has quite a long history with the show, I believe, as well, though not to the extent that Alden has had. It just seems a waste for Alden to be at B&B where I don't get the sense her "voice" has added or changed anything at the show. I still don't feel like she woul dbe a good fit for AMC--the Bell Y&R style and the Nixon AMC style are so different in obvious and subtle ways, but I would have sure prefered her over Pratt--which apparently were the options...

BTW it's John Smith isn't it? Not Jack? I know he was close to Bell (probably right after Alden) in the 80s for Y&R writing, and then served a similar role on B&B from the start till 2000 or so, but I do remember hearing fans start to grumble a lot when he started to gain more power over Alden, post Bill Bell. It just seems like if the Bell's weren't so obsessed with nepotism (granted, something Bill and Lee began in a way), they would realize that keeping Alden high up at Y&R is both best for the show, and most probably what their father would have wanted.

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Alden would've been a good fit at AMC. She does family drama & business very well.

Jack is a nickname for John. Much like Jack Abbott is really JOHN Abbott Jr.

The Bells nepotism issues aren't Y&R's major problem. It's SONY.

So while Alden definitely needs to return it will never happen.

Y&R's basically stuck with Maria until the end.

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i would imagine that Katherine (Kay) Chancellor was named for Alden and John and Jack Abbott were named for Smith.

Bill Bell liked to use family and friends names for his characters eg Brad (Eliot,Carlton), Colleen,Lauralee Brooks,Biil Foster,Phillip Chancellor (Lee Bell's maiden name was Phillip)etc

Interesting that the best Maria could get was the Forrester maid!

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While it's very clear that Bill Bell liked using family names for his characters...Kay Chancellor is definitely not named after Kay Alden, Alden started writing for Y&R in 1974, Kay Chancellor had been on canvas since 1973.

LOL about Maria being the Forrester maid.

Losing Alden was the death knell for Y&R, it really was the beginning of the end. Jack Smith had many faults and DeeeDee's put it very succinctly that he's really Hogan-lite, what I will give Jack Smith is that he wrote Y&R while his son died of terminal cancer. Now, he never should have done that, he should have just gone on leave, but he didn't and he worked on the show and cared for his son. That he got anything resembling a soap opera on the air is a miracle in my view and he has all my sympathy, no parent should lose a child.

Alden's Y&R, faults and all, not that I ever found many, was as close to Bill Bell as anyone was ever going to get and it is VILE and she isn't still guiding the show.

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