Y&R's Mal Young departs as Head Writer & Executive Producer!

Young and the Restless': Mal Young Departs as Head Writer and Exec Producer!!

Mal Young is leaving “The Young and the Restless” as head writer and executive producer, an individual with knowledge tells TheWrap.
Young, whose departure was first reported by Daytime Confidential, has been with CBS’ long-running soap opera since 2016. 

He was named head writer and executive producer in 2017 after the the departure of Sally Sussman and Kay Alden. Young’s prior credits include British series “EastEnders” and “Brookside,” and he co-created “And The Beat Goes On” for Channel 4 in the U.K..No replacement has been named.

Young’s departure is not the only to befall the long-running daytime series. In October, star Doug Davidson said he’ll exit the CBS soap after 40 years.

When asked by a fan if he’d been let go from the daytime soap, the actor replied, “It seems so.” He later expanded by saying the show would be going in a “new direction” without his involvement. In a statement to Soaps.com, Davidson explained that his contract with the show had expired in January and was not renewed. He had since been appearing as a recurring character while the show built out the rest of its roster.

Davidson first joined “The Young and the Restless” as Paul Williams in 1978, going on to become one of its longest-serving cast members. In 2013, he won a Daytime Emmy Award for the role.

Y&R Fired Mal Young!

The Young and the Restless news brings joyful tidings today. Multiple sources report Mal Young is fired! Sexism and misogyny backstage at the CBS soap is one reason claimed. However, tumbling ratings and unhappy sponsors and fans are likely to blame as well. Although Y&R claims its ratings are just fine, the numbers tell another story. Mal Young has lower ratings than what got Jill Farren Phelps fired. Here’s what we know.

  

Young and the Restless – Mal Young Axed

Behind the scenes at Y&R, it looks like CBS is bringing back Josh Griffith to replace the showrunner just shoved out. CBS added Mal Young as a consultant, then after a few months, they axed JFP and pushed the UK TV scribe into her chair. Then they also made him headwriter giving him total control of the show. For most fans, that was the start of the worst seasons on Young and the Restless in its history. Now Griffith, most recently a co-head writer at Days of Our Lives, will steer the show.

Highlight Hollywood got the inside scoop from an unnamed source at The Young and the Restless. It’s great “Mal is gone”, said the source, There are still “untalented people in charge, who are doing nothing but playing games and looking out for family members and cronies”. The insider also quipped: “They can’t make a good decision under any circumstances”. Fans have been saying the same thing for months about the lack of talent and troublesome storylines. Now someone on the inside validated their concerns.

Mal Young Shielded by Les Moonves?

More info leaking from CBS/Sony says that Les Moonves was shielding Mal Young. The disgraced CBS exec was fired for sexual harassment allegations that are still pouring out. It seems he was taking advantage of women from his position of power for decades. A Sony insider said that tarnished Moonves can no longer “protect his favorite people over at CBS any longer and more heads will roll”. Given longstanding rumors of sexism on the Y&R set, it’s not surprising if it turns out Moonves and Mal Young were buddies.

  

The same source seems to know about the alleged bad behavior at The Young and the Restless. They confirmed “months of misogyny toward cast and crew and production executives”.

 Then added, “few are sorry to see him go”. Fans should be cheering this firing. Interestingly, a new Y&R promo video was titled “Christmas miracle”. Ironically, that’s the last promo we should see from the disgraced director and many will see it as miraculous that Young is finally gone. Another source says to expect an announcement from Mal Young that “he retired”.

Y&R's Peter Porte

Peter Porte (born March 31, 1985) is an American actor, known for the soap opera The Young and the Restless, two short films It's Not Porn... and Sutures, and the sitcom Baby Daddy playing Brad Walker, who is married to Bonnie Wheeler. He graduated at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2006 with a degree in Drama and Journalism. Porte grew up in Greenwood Lake, New York and always wanted to be an actor.

Porte first got into acting in the third grade when he appeared in a Christopher Columbus pageant. According to Porte, he only got the role because his mother, who is from Poland, made his costume out of "traditional Polish garb." Porte continued acting throughout high school and ultimately decided to become a professional actor. Porte graduated from George F. Baker High School in 2002.^. He earned a BFA in Acting at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Porte then went onto study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

On October 7th, 2018 he wed Jacob Villere in a ceremony held in New Orleans.
Though he always considered himself an actor, Porte started his career as a model. He's done shows in Milan and Paris.^[
Toured with the Broadway National Touring Company of Mamma Mia!, after which he made the move to Los Angeles. On stage, performing five seasons with the critically acclaimed For the Record company. Videos on the website Funny or Die.

Lead and supporting roles in film and hit network television shows including: Cold Case, CSI: Miami, Medium, The New Normal and Parks and Recreation. In 2011, he joined the cast of The Young and the Restless as a series regular, playing the role of Ricky Williams. Following his run on the series, he had recurring roles in Devious Maids for the Lifetime Network and in Baby Daddy for FreeForm. He has also had roles in episodes of the NBC comedy Telenovela, CBS Mom and NCIS: LA, and Fox New Girl.

Porte starred in the indie thriller The Good Nanny and the made-for-television movie A Cinderella Christmas for ION Television,^[while recurring on the comedy web series Living with Models, and starring in the world premiere of Eve Ensler's play O.P.C. at the American Repertory Theatre.
Porte stars as a surfer in the 2017 Hallmark movie, Love at the Shore. He also stars in the 2018 film, Love, Once and Always for Hallmark.

Y&R's Endless Storylines!

The Young and the Restless spoilers tease that Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) falls into a coma after being struck down on the streets of Genoa City by Reed (Tristan Lake Leabu). Following Victor Newman’s (Eric Braeden) pre-Christmas return, the Newman family experiences various miracles in the New Year.

Nikki’s life-threatening state temporarily relieves the enormous pressure she’s endured due to her own misguided actions, as well as those of the remaining coverup crew members. If she’d only followed what Sharon (Sharon Case) and Victoria (Amelia Heinle) wanted to do, contact the authorities, this entire storyline, which began with Nikki’s head-conk of J.T. (Thad Luckinbill) in mid-April, could have been avoided. But such is soap and here she and Y&R’s loyal audience lie as of December’s advance past its midpoint.

Okay, so Scott’s character is not going to join her fabled mentor, Katherine (Jeanne Cooper), just yet. Nikki will pull out of the coma while her one true and only love, Victor, is at her side. Upcoming Niktor scenes will actually prove rather touching, as all viewers who have experienced the reality of a soul mate will see.

During the time of Nikki’s battle and thereafter, Victor will be forced to defend himself from Rey’s (Jordi Vilasuso) understandable, but off-base, allegations. Like Paul (Doug Davidson) before him, Genoa City’s lead enforcement officer thinks that Victor is a dirty player.

Rey’s circumstantial evidence is weighty. Under normal circumstances, Victor might be framed tightly and be kept behind bars for an extended period of time. But Y&R’s current atmosphere indicates that Braeden’s return scenes will lead to a full break in the mysterious and open case concerning J.T.’s demise and missing body.

What would be most miraculous is if J.T. is alive. Taking that far-fetched lead would allow Nikki’s perceived fatal action to have not been realized. That would mean she, Vickie, Phyllis (Gina Tognoni), and Sharon (Sharon Case), would not have unlawfully buried Mr. Hellstrom at Chancellor Park. Instead, they would have simply committed much lesser crimes, with however Rey would term them.

At this point, there can be no fully believable scenario that allows Nikki to escape all punishment for killing J.T., even though it was a form of self-defense of Victoria.

Also, Y&R can’t allow Detective Rosales and Christine (Lauralee Bell), presumably, to not pursue justice against the coverup crew for all they’ve done to-date. So, some type of miracle will be created that delivers a solution where all connected character’s lives aren’t impacted longterm.

With all of the above, fans will then be presented with an explanation of all open questions in the new year. That, in and of itself, is a miracle, considering devoted daytime fans are into their fourth season of the current year with this particular arc.

CBS Bought Y&R from the Bell Legacy!

Young and the Restless spoilers reveal the Bell family no longer controls Y&R‘s destiny. Mal Young might, in fact, have free rein to continue shutting out legacy characters, bringing in new throwaways, and frustrating fans. Soap Dirt dug into the ownership of Young and the Restless and turned up some startling facts that reveal that CBS became the sole owner of the show last year. Check out the evidence below on the transfer of power at the CBS soap and what this means for the Bell’s crumbling legacy.

Bell Family Out of Power at Young and the Restless

Y&R spoilers indicate 2017 was the year of the big power shift and as fans know, things have gone steadily downhill since then. She Knows confirmed Mal Young was promoted to head writer as well as EP in late 2017. From 2017-2018, Young and the Restless booked a huge drop in ratings, close to 18%. All four soaps lost some audience, but Y&R took the biggest hit with Mal Young at the helm. Now we’ve got the proof that also in 2017, that CBS bought the rights to the show, according to info from IMDB Pro.

If the Bell are out of power, as it seems by the evidence we unearthed, that explains a lot about what’s happening at the soap. Legacy families are in ruins including the Abbots in tatters. Mal Young is adding newbies left and right. Meanwhile, some vets jump ship or the writers kill them off.
There’s Arturo (Jason Canela), Rey (Jordi Vilasuso) and Lola Rosales (Sasha Calle) along with Alice Hunter (Kerry Jones). Many fans complain they don’t even recognize their cherished show any longer. The word fast forward is trending among angry Y&R watchers.

Will Lauralee Bell Be The Next Y&R Casualty?

Doug Davidson personally confirmed to Soap Dirt he’d been written off, so we wonder what’s next? Mal Young jostled Paul Williams out at the GCPD and now Rey seems to be in charge. Will Christine Williams (Lauralee Bell) be the next out the door? Would Mal Young push the co-creators’ daughter out the door?
Mal Young wrote out Davidson after four decades. In support, soap legend Stephen Nichols posted, “This is an absolute travesty. What is going on over there? This man has not only acted his a** off at #YR… for 40 years but is a man of the utmost integrity. I am saddened by this news. Much love, Doug!” Young and the Restless spoilers showed Eric Braeden wasn’t happy either and re-tweeted Doug’s messages.

One final note is that if you watch Y&R without fast forwarding (many don’t), you’ll notice that the Bell Dramatic Serial card still plays right before the Sony logo (Sony and CBS are one and the same). That doesn’t mean the Bells still produce because it’s clear they do not. However, it might have been a condition of the sale to keep displaying that card to preserve the sense of legacy.