‘The Young & The Restless’ Executive Producer Fires Women-Led Writing Staff Ahead Of Series’ 50th Anniversary, Vows To Do The Job Himself

‘The Young & The Restless’ Executive Producer Fires Women-Led Writing Staff Ahead Of Series’ 50th Anniversary, Vows To Do The Job Himself

A staffing shakeup is happening behind the scenes of TV’s longest-running soap opera.

According to reports, “The Young and the Restless” executive producer Josh Griffith fired all five members of the show’s breakdown writing staff recently, declaring he’ll be taking on their tasks himself moving forward.

Reportedly, Griffith, who is also the head writer for the show, says that eliminating the positions was purely a “cost-cutting move.” The breakdown writing staff had been responsible for mapping out the series’ storylines across episodes. It seems the CBS daytime drama is suffering from the shrinking advertising market currently ravaging the daytime TV industry. As we reported earlier this week, two other midday staples, “Judge Mathis” and “The People’s Court,” were recently axed by their producers altogether.

Insiders have reportedly claimed, however, that the firing at “YAR” is concerning. Firstly, because the show is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and will be renewing contract negotiations with the Writers Guild of America soon. Even more disconcerting, all individuals on the team fired were reportedly women. One woman specifically, is reportedly a Black woman – allegedly brought on with the intent of staff diversification. The insider reportedly stated:

“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,”

Adding:

“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.”

The report also notes that Griffith’s move comes shortly after his co-EP Anthony Morina got the boot from higher-ups. Reportedly, the former staff exec got the pink slip from top dogs at Sony Pictures Television, who produces the series.

[VIA]

What are your thoughts on the situation? Let us know in the comments!