Y&R Fires Entire Breakdown Writing Staff

[DaytimeFan]

That is so sad for Natalie - she had more than 30 years under her belt at Y&R and aside from Janice Ferri Esser was the last link to the Bill Bell years.

It really is mind boggling. 

+1 you're absolutely right.

Just terrible to lose these links to history.

Griffith doing breakdowns will be an unmitigated disaster.

[soapfan770]

Sinclair brainwash hour lol…..I’ll have to remember to use that in the future. But yeah this past year a good number of stations have started to air mid-afternoon newscasts or local lifestyle shows i.e. in the 2PM and 3PM hours in lieu of traditional syndicated fare because it is much cheaper to do so. I can’t recall where it was but it was pointed out one NBC station essentially was only running news and local infotainment type shows in addition to Today and NBC News Daily with nothing syndicated until airing the usual Jeopardy/Wheel of Fortune combo. 

[TEdgeofNight]

KUDOS to Josh Griffith!!! If only DAYS (we're looking at you Giddens) would do the same. Get rid of the useless dead weight. Why are there so many writers who turn out crap? Headwriter to dialogue.  We've all been bitching about the writing for years. Kudos to Josh Griffith for having the balls to shake things up. There were way too many writers in the writers room. Days (if it stays on the air) needs to follow suit and fire about 90% of its staff. You can hate Josh all you want. I admire him. 

[Toups]

You need other writers because one person (or two since it's just him and Beall now) doing it all is too much work. And then you have to add his duties as EP.  It's not sustainable in the long run, especially for a one hour show.  I just can't see this working out for him, and Josh will eventually be fired. 

[INFJWill]

I'll look on the brightside, if this is the catalyst that leads to a major cast purge I'll take it. There's so much deadweight at Y&R.

[Planet Soap]

Josh Griffith think's he's Tyler Perry, writing everything solo. 

Y&R for better and worse is a show that could only function under one vision: Bill Bell. I have not seen another soap completely collapse without a single period of recovery once it's brain left. Y&R has not had once uptick in quality since WJB's death, it's been a straight decline.

No matter how many EP'S and HW'S have passed through the revolving door the show remains in a crap state.

So longs as the show holds onto the #1 spot, CBS will assume the show is doing something right. You know it's bad when GH is now the best produced soap on the air. 

Edited February 23, 2023 by ironlion

[j swift]

File this under contrarian/optimist/conspiracy theories - but I wonder if consolidating the writing and producing is an effort to reduce costs in order to increase options for streaming revenue?  In other words, will they increase efforts to stream the show on foreign platforms and thereby negate the need to pay residuals to WGA writers?

[INFJWill]

Does Josh think he's TP, or does the network think he's TP? This likely was a cost cutting move by the suits and Josh obliged. I'm not sure I buy the idea that he's drunk with power and forced the others out. 

Regardless it's still a disaster waiting to happen. No one person can fulfill all those duties.

[Contessa Donatella]

For most of his career, Harding "Pete" Lemay was HW, Breakdown Writer, Daily Script Writer & Script Editor in charge of continuity. The veritable one man show! He did it for 8 years. His work was superb. And, he burned out in a huge sort of flame! So he did it but even he couldn't sustain it without burning out! And, there's no way that Josh Griffith is any kind of Pete Lemay. JG was at his best when he had a full Writing Team and Michael Malone and Linda Gottlieb. The idea that he is capable of this is ... lunacy. 

[Taoboi]

WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

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It will be needed I fear.

[titan1978]

This is truly the most shocking soap news to me since Frons cancelled AMC and OLTL at the same time.

It’s not the cost cutting- that is happening everywhere, and there is also the potential strike coming up.  It’s the fact that they are eliminating everyone but Josh. If anyone should have been fired from Y&R it’s JG.  Having him as a nearly sole creative vision is insanity.  He’s beyond a hack at this point, and no visionary.  This is awful news.

[lucaslesann23]

Days did this in 08

https://amp.soapcentral.com/days-of-our-lives/news/2008/0204-writers_fired.php

[ClassicsSoapFan]

It reminds me of the fictional Mary Tyler Moore Show.

On the last episode the new owner fired everyone in the newsroom except the inept news anchor wo had been the butt of all the jokes and made all the mistakes.

JG is Ted Baxter,LOL!

[janea4old]

 

 

[Taoboi]

Yeah, I admit...I am definitely shocked. 

 

Especially the writers with long connections to the Bill Bell days.