'The Young and the Restless' Writer Shakeup: Sally Sussman & Kay Alden Retiring, Executive Producer Mal Young Taking Over!

Mal Young will pull double duty as Y&R executive producer and head writer.

The Young and the Restless head writer Sally Sussman and story consultant Kay Alden are retiring from the top-rated daytime drama, according to Daytime Confidential's Jamey Giddens.

Giddens reports that executive producer Mal Young will take over the head writing duties, with his material set to hit the air in October. With the sheer amount of work that goes into writing a daytime soap opera, it is not clear how Young, or anyone, could successfully do both jobs. It seems like a co-head writer should be named soon if young indeed plans on keeping the job.

Sally Sussman Gives All Longtime 'Young and the Restless' Fans Great Hope!

The new Sally Sussman era of Y&R begins with an Abbott family breakfast.
Howard Wise/JPI Studios

As a lifelong fan of CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, I have been waiting to hear a writer acknowledge the mistakes of the past decade, along with an actual plan to fix them. Y&R has been perched at the top of the daytime soap opera Nielsen ratings for years, but the show has done little since its legendary co-creator William J. Bell left to actually build on his legacy. Instead, doppelgangers and plot-driven event writing have turned Bell's masterpiece into mundane, even boring, television. A TV Insider interview released on Friday with new head writer Sally Sussman gives me more hope for the series than I have had in many years.

Sussman's work begins airing on December 7, and she opens with an Abbott family breakfast. If you watched the show during her previous run on Bell's staff (1984-1989), you'll remember this is a familiar setting. It's a small sign Sussman, along with the also returned-to-the-fold Kay Alden, is bringing Y&R back to its roots, and actually gets what this show is all about.

Below are some of the highlights of this fantastic interview:

Sally Sussman Returns to 'The Young and the Restless' as New Head Writer

CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless has named Sally Sussman as its new head writer, following the departure of Charles Pratt Jr.

“Sally was part of the team that first brought Y&R to its long-standing position as America’s #1 daytime drama and brings with her years of experience writing serialized storylines,” said senior executive vice president of programming for Sony Pictures Television Steve Kent. “Her long-standing familiarity with the citizens of Genoa City and her great storytelling make her a perfect choice to take the reins at Y&R.”

“We are thrilled to have Sally return to The Young and the Restless, both as an award-winning writer, and someone who is passionate about honoring the legacy of the series with character driven story," added Angelica McDaniel, Executive Vice President, Daytime Programs and Syndicated Program Development, CBS Entertainment and CBS Television Distribution. "The powerhouse partnership of Sally and Mal Young, our talented new Executive Producer, sets an even brighter course for daytime’s #1 drama.”

Sussman was hired by Y&R creator William J. Bell more than three decades ago. She won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing during in 2006.

Sussman has also written for Days of our Lives, Another World, Generations, Spyder Games and Knots Landing.

Pratt is now the showrunner and executive producer of the upcoming FOX series, Star.