Major Young and the Restless star confirms exit from CBS soap after 8 years

Things are changing in Genoa City. 

HELLO! can confirm that Josh Griffith is leaving the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless  as head writer. The Emmy-winning writer has been with the show on and off for 20 years; he will exit later in 2026. 

CBS has not yet named a successor. 

The news comes two months after it was confirmed Josh had stepped down as executive producer after three years in the role; Sally McDonald took over as the sole executive producer in May 2026.

TV Insider was the first to report the news. The cast and crew have all reportedly been informed.

© CBS

Josh joined The Young and the Restless in 2006 after getting his start on Santa Barbara and One Life To Live, before launching the short-lived soap Sunset Beach.

He left in 2008 and worked on Days of Our Lives as co-head writer. For a decade, he worked on and off for the show, and in 2018, he returned as supervising producer. He was promoted to head writer in 2019, and added executive producer to his resume in 2023.

He has won four Emmys awards for his work on the long-running soap, but has become a controversial figure with fans who were not impressed with his decision to let go of the entire writing team in 2023,  or certain story arcs, including a recent AI takeover.

© Christine Bartolucci/CBS

In recent months, however, he has overseen the return of Shemar Moore and Vivica A. Fox, who reprised their roles as Malcolm Winters and Stephanie Simmons together on screen for the first time in decades

“I feel humbled and honored and nostalgic,” SWAT star Shemar said of his return as Malcolm, a role he played for over 10 years.

© Christine Bartolucci/CBS

The 2026 storyline revealed that he had been diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a severe hematologic condition in which the body fails to make blood cells in sufficient numbers. However, while trying to find a donor, Malcolm discovers from Stephanie that they have a son together, Holden.

In mid-June, prolific soap actor Jere Burns made his debut appearance on the soap opera, as Dr. Laurence Markham and shared scenes with Susan Walters (who plays Diane Jenkins), who had been absent as part of an ongoing mystery around a fallout with husband Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman).