Beginning Wednesday, November 11, “The Young and the Restless” will formally see material written by the show’s new head writing team, self-described “dyed-in-the-wool soap opera aficionados” Jamey Giddens (“Beyond the Gates,” “Days of our Lives”) and Dan O’Connor (“Days of our Lives,” “General Hospital”), who’ve replaced outgoing head writer Josh Griffith, whose material concluded on Tuesday, November 10.
Ahead of their debut episode, the duo sat down with TV Insider to talk about where they’re taking the show’s characters, bestowed praise on their predecessor for leaving them with “amazing” material to work from, and why bringing “sexy” back to daytime’s most-watched and highest-rated drama series was a must.
First things first: Griffith, who first joined the show’s writing team in 2006 and later served in numerous capacities thereafter, including writer, producer, head writer and executive producer, announced in late June that he would be stepping down from his post as the show’s head writer, months after also relinquishing his duties as executive producer, where he was replaced by Sally McDonald. By the end of July, Giddens and O’Connor were named as his successors, with the two officially beginning writing work in August.
Giddens, fresh off a writing stint at “Beyond the Gates,” previously served as a breakdown writer at “Days of our Lives,” which in 2022 netted him a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Drama Series under then head writer Ron Carlivati, and created the primetime drama “Ambitions,” which starred Robin Givens. As for O’Connor, he most recently wrote for “Days of our Lives,” with his previous writing credits including “One Life to Live,” which at the time was led by Carlivati, who was the show’s head writer until the show’s conclusion in 2012, followed by “General Hospital,” which netted O’Connor two consecutive Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Drama Series in 2024 and 2025, where he served as the head writer from 2019-2024.
In conversation with TV Insider, Giddens noted that Griffith left him and O’Connor plenty of “amazing” stories to work with, emphasizing that the plan was to build on Griffith’s final efforts and “bring a community feel to the show.” Concurring with Giddens, O’Connor shared that viewers should expect to see characters in scenes with those they’ve traditionally not shared before.
“We want to see the entire town come together, be on united fronts, and sometimes [be] in conflict with each other,” said O’Connor. “We’re going to be mixing it up and have everybody interact with each other a little bit more.”
While the writers noted their desire for viewers to feel like Genoa City is a real place they could hang out in and escape to, Giddens commented, “We want to bring [the show] back to heightened escapism and a mixture of grounded reality.”
Not long after being hired, Giddens and O’Connor took time out to meet with the show’s cast and discussed with them what they see for the future of their characters.
“One of the things we like to ask all of them is, ‘What’s something you have not been able to do in however many years you’ve been here?’ relayed O’Connor, acknowledging the decades some of the cast have been “living and breathing” their characters. In response, O’Connor found their insight to be “invaluable” in helping shape the future story written by himself and Giddens.
Case in point: Giddens spoke of his conversations with veteran stars Eric Braeden (Victor Newman), Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki Newman) and Peter Bergman (Jack Abbott), describing the perspectives of the soap legends giving him and O’Connor plenty to go on in terms of opening up story for the Newmans, Abbots, and Winters families, among others.
“Meeting with Mr. Braeden and Ms. Scott and Mr. Bergman, when you think of ‘The Young and the Restless’ day in and day out, those are the tent poles,” pointed out Giddens. “And just talking to them and getting their insight and who they want to play with more and what they love about their characters and how they see them tick, it just was so invaluable to help us start crafting these next chapters and what it’s going to look like for the Newmans and the Abbotts and the Winters and Mariah [Copeland, Camryn Grimes] and Tessa [Porter, Cait Fairbanks] and all of these people as we set this new course.
Taking the words of the show’s late co-creator William J. Bell, Giddens shared that he grew up watching the soap and that he went through old interviews with Bell to get a feel for what was behind his mastery. “He talked about how soap opera was the superior medium,” explained Giddens. “[Bell said that] so many people think of it as a stepping stone to primetime, but you never get to spend this much time with a character as you do in this genre. And that’s always just stuck with me.”
Giddens continued, sharing that he and O’Connor want to pay homage to Bell through their work “with a contemporary feel for this modern era that we live in and to keep these stories fresh and sexy and young and restless for many generations to come.”
“We’re big believers in, ‘I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow,’” said O’Connor. “So, a little bit of suspense and anticipation is what we’re really hoping for. We want them parked in those seats and paying attention.”
Are you looking forward to Giddens and O’Connor’s material premiering on Wednesday, and, if so, what are your thoughts about what’s ahead for Genoa City? Let us know in the comments below!
