Josh Griffith is relinquishing his title as showrunner/executive producer at “The Young and the Restless,” with Sally McDonald, who was upped to co-executive producer in 2025, now becoming the show’s sole executive producer.
According to Soap Central, which first reported behind-the-scenes changes at the daytime drama series, Griffith decided to step down as executive producer to focus on his writing duties, where he’ll continue to serve as the show’s head writer, a position he’s held since 2019 following the departure of then executive producer/head writer, Mal Young.
Griffith has had a long history with the soap opera, dating back to 2006, when he served as a creative consultant and breakdown writer. Later that year, he took the reins as co-executive producer, a role he held until December 2007.
During the infamous writer’s strike in 2007 and into early 2008, Griffith served as the show’s head writer, officially going fi-core according to the Writers Guild. He later returned to the series as head writer in 2012, remaining in the position until 2013.
By August 2018, Griffith once again returned to the show, this time as a supervising producer, and held the position until the aforementioned departure of Mal Young. From that point on, Griffith became the show’s head writer and co-executive producer, alongside Anthony Morina.
Following Morina’s departure in 2023, Griffith became the show’s sole executive producer while retaining his role as head writer until today’s announcement.
As for McDonald, her ascent to sole EP comes after her long career at the then-named CBS Television City, where in 1983 she was hired as a typist before being promoted to production supervisor for various productions at the studio. She joined the long-running soap opera in 1989 as a production supervisor, was then hired as an associate director, and became a director on the series in 1996.
During her time as a director on the soap opera, McDonald received eight Daytime Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team category (1996-1999, 2001-2002, 2011 and 2019) 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.
Soap Opera Digest reportedly confirmed the behind-the-scenes changes at “The Young and the Restless,” and also noted it was a decision made by Griffith.
