Y&R Fires Entire Breakdown Writing Staff

[mikelyons]

There's HUGE backstage news coming from one of the US soaps either today or tomorrow. Hold on to your hats. I promise you will not be happy about it.

[Bright Eyes]

I love chaos so bring it on.

[j swift]

https://www.thewrap.com/young-and-the-restless-fires-breakdown-writing-staff/

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The move comes just short of WGA negotiations, as well as the series celebrating its 50th anniversary

Sally Spectra’s brutal firing from the fictional Newman Media may be nothing compared to the real-life pink slips just handed out in the writing department at CBS’s top rated daytime drama “The Young and the Restless.”

“Y&R” co-executive producer and head writer Josh Griffith has sacked all five writers that comprised the daytime drama’s breakdown writing staff, multiple individuals with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap.

According to one insider, Griffith said eliminating the breakdown writing staff — those writers responsible for mapping out story lines across multiple episodes — is a cost-cutting move, and that he will take on the task of writing breakdowns himself.

“The timing of the firings is suspect given that WGA negotiations were coming up and the show is celebrating a major milestone with its 50th anniversary,” the individual said. “Even more brutal is that four of the five writers of the breakdown staff are all women, one of them being African-American, who was hired with the intended purpose of expanding diversity behind the scenes per CBS’ directive.”

Edited February 22, 2023 by j swift

[AbcNbc247]

^^
Is this the news?

[mikelyons]

Yes.

Natalie Minardi Slater, Kay Alden's protege, is one of the fired writers. Josh has driven Y&R into the ground and I fear this is the final nail in its coffin. 

Edited February 23, 2023 by mikelyons

[Vee]

HAHAHAHA WHAT THE FUUUUUUCK @Darn

[AbcNbc247]

Thanks!

Good luck to all the Y&R fans on here 

[Vee]

IIRC (and correct me if I'm wrong) Harding Lemay said in his book that after a couple years he ultimately took on the job of singlehandedly writing every script at AW himself after finding the work of what he rather discourteously called 'the sub-writers' on his staff to be below par. In a series of unnervingly casual and increasingly troubling asides throughout the same book, he also chronicles the subsequent breakdown and psychological collapse of his wife and then his entire family while he is churning out script after script after script five days a week, 12-20 hours a day, 365 days a year, spending every waking moment enmeshed in Another World.

Good luck to Josh Griffith!

[janea4old]

Griffith is now the sole EP, HW, and breakdown writer?  What a disaster!

[edgeofnik]

Gosh, even The Wrap isn't knowledgeable about daytime:

'Production sources at the other two remaining daytime dramas — ABC’s “General Hospital” and Peacock’s “Days of our Lives” — told TheWrap that their shows still have breakdown writers alongside script writers.'

 

 

[mikelyons]

I found out about it minutes before I made this post. From what I understand, The Wrap threw together their article...and it shows...

[Joseph]

The bold was forgotten lol

I hope this is a fake, Josh is terrible so I hope he won't do it!

[Vee]

It's not a 'fake'.

[janea4old]

Who are the breakdown writers that are leaving?
Is there any diversity remaining in what's left of the writing team?

[BoldRestless]

The good news: the show will be one man's vision.

 

The bad news: Josh Griffith is the man.