Y&R Fires Entire Breakdown Writing Staff

[Faulkner]

Yeah and also what the network execs and audiences expect from soaps has changed drastically since those earlier talents were working. I don’t think any of them would thrive in today’s daytime environment. They’d want far more autonomy and ability to tell stories with integrity.

[RavenWhitney]

There has to be some connection between the pending writer's strike, budget considerations and these firings.  If these writer's aren't on staff on May 1, they don't need to be rehired when strike is over. Meanwhile, the show can bring in fi core or other cheap scab labor to write the outlines after the strike ends.  Josh and Mandy can write outlines for a few months until strike is over.

https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/wga-contract-negotiations-march-20-amptp-1235531974/

[Toups]

If they are preparing for a strike, there’s a chance Michael Conforti wasn’t fired because he went Fi-Core in 2007.   I don’t think Beall went Fi-Core so if she doesn’t again this time, maybe there’s a workaround because she’s a Producer now. 

[dragonflies]

 

[Broderick]

Kay Alden indicated she not only had to submit storyline projections to SONY and CBS, and also the outlines themselves.  That's really overkill, as far as network/production oversight.  

(Henry Slesar from "Edge of Night" was another head writer who did his own outlines and some of his own dialogue, in the days when there wasn't so much oversight.  He was always listed as "Story by Henry Slesar.  Teleplays by Henry Slesar and Steve Lehrman.") 

[Liberty City]

He needs to get over the fact he was never fired and stop selling the false narrative that he was.

[Contessa Donatella]

Pete indicated that once a script was written it would have to be vetted by the network, the sponsor, etc. & network "notes" were routine & would require that then the script be rewritten! Micromanaging. 

And at a point nearer the end of his life than during his period of greatest activity in writing, he did a multi-part interview with We Love Soaps Net. In one segment the interviewer seemed to cover two things. (1) The dirty trick P&G pulled in withdrawing their support for his "Michael comes out" gay storyline & (2) the murder of Frankie Frame. About Frankie the interview took the tack that Lemay had created the Frame family so would be interested that one of his folk had been killed off. Lemay expressed that they would never have murdered anyone although they did kill off Val Dufour's Walter Curtin in a car accident. You could tell he was horrified at this modern idea that you had one character you wrote murder another character you wrote. No, the old legends would not fare well today. Whoever said that, yeah, right on. 

[BetterForgotten]

Something will inevitably crash hard as Griffith is not equipped to handle such a heavy workload. It will likely be similar to what happened to Mal Young when he was ousted. 

By then, who will Sony hire, or will CBS just decide to pull the plug on the soaps? 

[lucaslesann23]

They could just put Amanda Beall in charge. She's his right hand anyways 

[Faulkner]

If they are gutting this show to this extent, I would not be surprised, especially after NBC got out of the daytime soap business.

[BetterForgotten]

History has shown that if you’re not Bill Bell, being HW and EP is not successful and is a disaster on this show. Beall will not be able to do all these roles in one either.

[Broderick]

I agree.  I'm more concerned about Josh Griffith being the Executive Producer than I am about him writing the breakdowns.  

I'm obviously sorry the breakdown writers lost their jobs, but they weren't impressive.  (Probably because they function under a stale head writer.)  

If he steps-up the writing, then the production values will obviously suffer.  If he takes the production job seriously, the writing will suffer (even more than it already is).  It's a no-win.   I don't think anyone's got enough time to be the executive producer, the headwriter, and the breakdown writer all at one time.  Not on an hour-long show.  Will be interesting to see him try, though.   

[RavenWhitney]

That would make sense if the reporting about five writers being fired is true. Would make sense to keep Conforti.  Will be interesting to get confirmation of who exactly was fired. To keep Conforti will speak volumes about the production company's motive re strike, lower cost labor etc. And giving Beall a producer credit means she continues to work on the show during strike. 

Edited February 23, 2023 by RavenWhitney

[Contessa Donatella]

Ya know a soap can be cancelled before the end of the contract term. If they have goals they're supposed to be meeting, like ratings but not only that, & they're not hitting those numbers, they can get the axe early. AW was cancelled before their calendar date by months only & GEN was cancelled at 2 yr mark when their contract was for 3 yrs., so they lost a whole year which they really could have used! I think BEACH was "gypped" out of part of a year, too. However, that is all NBC. And, all while Susan D. Lee was head of daytime there. 

[titan1978]

And people often forget the title gave him the power after struggling with Conboy during Y&R’s first era.  But he didn’t do the day to day job of EP.  He had Conboy, then Wes Kinney, then Ed Scott.  And those three were talented EP’s with a point of view. He certainly had control, but he wasn’t doing the actual job.

If anything, if Josh wants to be a show head and run the writers room like primetime, he should be building up a strong team.  Not tearing it down.