Y&R: Regime Change

Today (Thursday, July 26, 2012) a press release came out that Maria Arena Bell is out as the executive producer of The Young and the Restless. Jill Farren Phelps is now the executive producer and Josh Griffith was named the head writer.This release came from Sony Pictures Television directly. My thoughts are coming up after this intro.

I actually enjoy Y&R these days, so my feelings on this are very mixed. There are some trends on the program I don't care for male characters being drugged and raped creating new children would be the biggest offender.

When it comes to JFP and Griffith my feelings are mixed. JFP has done some good things in soaps over the years, but some others had me steaming mad. I've watched all of the daytime shows listed in her bio when she was executive producer. Santa Barbara loved it, until Conboy was hired and made her boss, and then it fell apart. Guiding Light loved it, there were a few missteps that years later hurt the show for example Maureen Bauer. That said Maureen's death story was done extremely well. Another World, well that was more mixed than anything else due to the serial killer story. One Life to Live I liked at first, but lost interest and turned it off for years. The quality of General Hospital while she was in charge varied greatly. The worst of it was how the Quartermaine family was destroyed.

With Josh Griffith at least he has a past with Y&R. That said I can't give you a list of what I loved or hated at each of his other shows: Sunset Beach, GH, Santa Barbara, OLTL or ATWT. I wish I could point at stories and scenes, but I can't.

Of course the weird thing is how Steve Kent announced this, and well Steve Kent has a past with Santa Barbara as well. It is weird how sometimes things go full circle. Santa Barbara was my "first" after-school soap opera, so I have a particular fondness for the program based on nostalgia.

It will be interesting to see what happens. All I know is that it will be controversial whatever goes on and I wonder who will be staying with the program and who will be going. Until Bill Bell retired, Y&R was extremely stable. His passing changed things and obviously hurt the program. Here's hoping the show remains entertaining. Good luck to everyone involved with Y&R it may be a bumpy ride as all transitions tend to be.