Sally McDonald, a longtime director and former production supervisor at “The Young and the Restless,” has been named co-executive producer at the daytime drama series, working alongside executive producer Josh Griffith, Soap Opera Network has learned.
According to sources, with McDonald by his side, Griffith, who also serves as head writer of the daytime drama series, will be leaning more into the writing side of his duties.
McDonald first started her career at the then-named CBS Television City in 1983 when she was hired as a typist, and was eventually promoted to a production supervisor for various productions at the studio. She later joined the long-running soap opera in 1989 as a production supervisor and was then hired as an associate director before becoming a director on the series in 1996.
Note: The CBS name was dropped from the iconic building in 2019, following its sale to Hackman Capital Partners. Now known as just Television City, “The Young and the Restless” remains one of its last remaining tenants before renovations are set to begin across the studio lot.
During her time as a director at the soap opera, McDonald received eight Daytime Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team (1996-1999, 2001-2002, 2011 and 2019) category out of 17 nominations. She also received a Directors Guild Award in 1997 for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Daytime Serials. Additional nominations in the category came in 1999, 2004, 2010 and 2011.
In an interview with TV Insider last year, series star Sharon Case (Sharon Newman) thanked McDonald, among others, for their support in taping a special standalone episode dedicated to her 30 years on the daytime drama.
“There were a lot of scenes and I had a lot of dialogue to memorize. I was in a time frame where I was in a lot of shows and doing a lot of work and long hours and that was one of those moments of terror,” said Case at the time. “I didn’t think I’d be able to do it, but the crew and the people I work with are right there with you. We all work together as a group so well. My stage manager, Fritz [Brekeller], and my director, Sally McDonald, really were key in getting me through that and making it so that I could accomplish that show. It was a big show, so thank you to them.”
