On 7/31/2026 at 7:18 PM, ranger1rg said:

13 pages here already about the writing change at Y&R.

For the ENTIRE MONTH of July, the Y&R discussion board is 8 pages.

Cuz the news outside the show is better than the actual show.

On 7/29/2026 at 8:26 PM, titan1978 said:

As far as what to do with Victor, I thought it would be interesting to tell a retirement story and he of course hates it, but can’t get back in at Newman. He ends up buying a startup of some kind, creating an environment where he can mix with characters he doesn’t usually mix with, and new characters not already attached to Newman or Abbotts. And instead of him blustering around screaming his catchphrase he has to learn how to adapt to today, how to mentor, how to enjoy the win again. And maybe show some youngsters what ruthless really means. I don’t know if EB is physically capable of this anymore though.

Surprisingly I feel EB wouldn't mind play this kind of story because it could be inspirational (though perhaps tell him BTS in the end Victor wins), but I too would be concerned if he was physically capable.

On 7/29/2026 at 8:53 PM, titan1978 said:

Excited or not about this news, I think we should all enjoy this moment. Daytime has had ratings wins this year. BTG is solid and got a two year renewal and a great showing with Emmy noms. Y&R has a new EP this year, and now new Head Writers, and this is a first for Jamey. We see GH hitting highs on HULU consistently.

This is a far cry from the era of folks like Altman and Passanante being shopped around to just keep the lights on while a show quietly limps towards an inevitable conclusion. Soaps are being shown to the suits as viable programming.

I am not saying things are perfect or we are at a creative high, because we are not. But at least we are back to that feeling that was around in 2012 when the last four network soaps all saw a resurgence after all those cancellations. I hope it continues.

Definitely enjoying the moment and the fact that I am consistently watching three to four soaps again or will in the future. And for the most part, I'm pleased which has been a while.

Good luck to Jamey and Dan this week and the weeks ahead as they take over Y&R headwriting duties. I hope they do great writing and get Y&R back on track.

I think the network will be "ghostwriting" the show more than ever. We'll see the type of show, CBS wants.

43 minutes ago, Spoon said:

I think the network will be "ghostwriting" the show more than ever. We'll see the type of show, CBS wants.

Yes, I think these two will be very easy for the corporate bosses to control - they are very junior HWs, and in Jamey's case, it's his first time being a Co-HW of a daytime soap. They're not someone like Pratt or even Griffith that came with decades of "experience" and a certain degree of autonomy.

Mark my words - if CBS/Sony don't get the results they're looking for, Jamey and Dan will be scapegoated and easily fired within 1-2 years.

Whereas JoshIt's so secret that CBS/Sony Pictures Television have their hands firmly in this soap and its storytelling, so it is not surprising that they likely chose two that are not going to fight them on things. Whereas, Josh Griffith would likely fight or ignore their desires.

44 minutes ago, BetterForgotten said:

Yes, I think these two will be very easy for the corporate bosses to control - they are very junior HWs, and in Jamey's case, it's his first time being a Co-HW of a daytime soap. They're not someone like Pratt or even Griffith that came with decades of "experience" and a certain degree of autonomy.

Mark my words - if CBS/Sony don't get the results they're looking for, Jamey and Dan will be scapegoated and easily fired within 1-2 years.

But Griffith is so bad that I don't care if Giddens and O'Connor are easy to control.

Is Y&R presently a show you find watchable? Is that what a HW like Griffith -- supposedly someone with "autonomy" -- promises more of? Because I don't want it. I don't want JG to get near this show ever again.

Are you saying it would be better to hire a HW who's been around the block multiple times and has decades of experience? Because that's not a guarantee of anything either.

4 minutes ago, ranger1rg said:

But Griffith is so bad that I don't care if Giddens and O'Connor are easy to control.

Is Y&R presently a show you find watchable? Is that what a HW like Griffith -- supposedly someone with "autonomy" -- promises more of? Because I don't want it. I don't want JG to get near this show ever again.

Are you saying it would be better to hire a HW who's been around the block multiple times and has decades of experience? Because that's not a guarantee of anything either.

I just think it's a dead end situation either way, no matter who gets hired. CBS/Sony have their hands all over this show and they won't let the anyone really cook. Those with more experience and still working in the industry are recycled hacks who know how to play game with TPTB (Griffith), and those more junior will just do and write as they're told by the corporate overlords. Just not an environment to set anyone up for success IMO.

I agree that Griffith is horrible and I hope he never gets anywhere the show again, but I also won't get my hopes up that the show is now on the verge of any type of creative renaissance until its proven out. Y&R has now had 20 years of terrible writing at this point that has never gotten better, IMHO - the common denominator being CBS/Sony during all those regimes.

Edited August 4Aug 4 by BetterForgotten

I will say I am looking forward to the inevitable first interview they'll probably give before their material airs just to get a sense of maybe where they want to take the show.

I'm just not seeing much evidence minus the now-gone Steve Kent that anyone left at Sony/CBS deeply cares about the creative direction of Y&R. Leaving Griffith spiraling in the position personally and professionally for years like the Flying Dutchman speaks to that.

If anyone knows more about the situation that I do (and that's very likely and doable with this show lol) I welcome them to chime in with more detail. But I choose to remain pragmatic given this sea change.

Just now, Vee said:

I'm just not seeing much evidence minus the now-gone Steve Kent that anyone left at Sony/CBS deeply cares about the creative direction of Y&R. Leaving Griffith spiraling in the position personally and professionally for years like the Flying Dutchman speaks to that.

If anyone knows more about the situation that I do (and that's very likely and doable with this show lol) I welcome them to chime in with more detail. But I choose to remain pragmatic given this sea change.

I don't see any evidence of it either, and I never stopped watching this mess of a show.

These "corporate overlords" watch the show every day and send notes? They create stories? They have time to do their assigned job and also do the overlord thing? I just don't see it.

Has there been interference from higher-ups in the past? Of course. But I do not believe it'll be any different or worse under these new writers than it was under Griffith.

The corporate overlords care about budget and ratings. Griffith survived because he played that game, keeping the ratings in decent shape. He wasn't kept all these years because they applauded his writing, or because he carried out their vision of the show.

I'm not worried about the next 2 years. If this writing team fails, I'll say "Oh, well" -- as much as I've loved this soap for decades. The end of this show as it is now? That's no loss.

I don't think Sony dictates stuff, but I think they have to approve stories, so what gets greenlit is very tame and covers the same themes over and over. And of course has to be done on almost no budget. Granted lately there is all the rape stuff that should have been rejected, but I'm sure it's just pitched as "after the success we had in drawing on classic Y&R history with the villainous character of Jordan, played by soap legend Colleen Zenk, we propose to bring on classic Y&R villain Matt Clark, played by soap legend Roger Howarth, and place him with the sexpot Michelle Stafford for a steamy romance and he will mix it up the Newmans in a classic LA Noir story, and at the same time, to make the show even more exciting, bring back the classic character of Patty to torture the Abbotts," and the execs, who know nothing about the show are like "oh ok, that sounds good and similar to what's worked in the past." And the pitch also explains how this can all be done by just building one or two new sets.

I imagine it's like anything else in media these days... all remakes and drawing on things that were popular in the past, no fresh ideas. I'm not quite saying it's AI, but for Y&R, you need to pitch the buzzwords (Newman, Abbott, Chancellor, Neil Winters, history, corporate, villains) and you're good.

So, while not impossible to improve the show, it would seemingly take writers with very strong creative vision, the passion to fight for it, to not piss off the suits in the process, and to figure out how to do it with no cast and no budget and make not be cringe. It's a HUGE undertaking and hard to believe it can be accomplished by anyone.

I'm of the group that doesn't believe that CBS or Sony is micro-managing anything and I don't think they'kk micro manage the new writers. Some of the choices Josh Griffith made were so out there that you can't convince me that anybody was forcing that on him or heavily interferring.

Right now it looks like the show is wrapping up the current stories which is good because it gives Jamey and Dan less baggage. I hope they have a solid pitch and know where they're going. I don't want another DAYS where we're waiting months to understand their new vision. Especially with the timing, they need to come in hot and have a strong November. I hope they can turn the year around and give us something to look forward to in 2027.

I think they need to take chances and really “go there.” They need to expose Matt for the violent rapist he is and not be shy about it. It needs to all culminate in his final death.

I’d have them recast Faith, and Matt develops an obsession with her, but she’s one of the few who doesn’t think he’s changed and is an on a mission to expose him as “justice” for her mother. Anyway, she’d kill him as he attempts to rape her (in an almost too violent for daytime sequence of scenes - we need to really show what a monster this guy is and why he deserves death) but for some reason, she gets charged with manslaughter as the authorities don’t view it as self defense. Maybe it goes as far as she’s sent to death row before getting a last minute soap opera reprieve, but I haven’t thought it all out yet, lol.

Edited August 4Aug 4 by BetterForgotten

1 hour ago, BoldRestless said:

I don't think Sony dictates stuff, but I think they have to approve stories, so what gets greenlit is very tame and covers the same themes over and over. And of course has to be done on almost no budget. Granted lately there is all the rape stuff that should have been rejected, but I'm sure it's just pitched as "after the success we had in drawing on classic Y&R history with the villainous character of Jordan, played by soap legend Colleen Zenk, we propose to bring on classic Y&R villain Matt Clark, played by soap legend Roger Howarth, and place him with the sexpot Michelle Stafford for a steamy romance and he will mix it up the Newmans in a classic LA Noir story, and at the same time, to make the show even more exciting, bring back the classic character of Patty to torture the Abbotts," and the execs, who know nothing about the show are like "oh ok, that sounds good and similar to what's worked in the past." And the pitch also explains how this can all be done by just building one or two new sets.

I imagine it's like anything else in media these days... all remakes and drawing on things that were popular in the past, no fresh ideas. I'm not quite saying it's AI, but for Y&R, you need to pitch the buzzwords (Newman, Abbott, Chancellor, Neil Winters, history, corporate, villains) and you're good.

So, while not impossible to improve the show, it would seemingly take writers with very strong creative vision, the passion to fight for it, to not piss off the suits in the process, and to figure out how to do it with no cast and no budget and make not be cringe. It's a HUGE undertaking and hard to believe it can be accomplished by anyone.

THIS!!

Josh's 'vision' worked because the ratings maintained and (inexplicably) increased and he kept within budget.

Now he went either because he was burnt out, or somebody saw the hugely negative response to all of his plots and thought changes had to be made.

Or maybe his contract was up and to keep him meant a salary increase so Sony thought why not go with someone cheaper?