The Young and the Restless has remained the top-rated daytime drama for 37 consecutive years and soon to be 38 as of the end of December. So, it’s no small order to be named the head writers of the soap with the pedigree of its legendary co-creator and head writer, William J. Bell. 

Now with Josh Griffith’s final stories playing out, new head writers Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor’s scripts and material begin to air this Wednesday, November 11. As with any head writing regime, it takes time to get out of the previous regimes stories and on to yours, but the two gentlemen with a vast love of soap operas are patient and excited about their plans for Genoa City in the very near future.

Giddens, who was an double Emmy-nominee this year for his work on the writing teams of Beyond the Gates and Days of our Lives, and O’Connor who spent a number of years on the One Life to Live writing team, which eventually led him to a co-head writer position at General Hospital and later a stint at Days of our Lives, sat down for their first major interview with TV Insider to share some of their goals their vision for Genoa City.

Photo: JPI

GET CHARACTERS OUT AND ABOUT

First order of business is they want the town to have a more community feel and characters to mix and mingle with others more.

Giddens explained, “Sometimes when new regimes come in, it’s such a jarring change. We wanted to lean into some of the stories that we really gravitated to and write the next chapters. We wanted to bring a community feel to the show and cross some characters that might not have been playing together, and make it feel like a town, get these characters out and about.” That sentiment was echoed by O’Connor who added,  “Make Genoa City feel like a real place.”

THE YOUNG, RESTLESS, AND THE  MODERN

Key to Jamey and Dan’s storytelling will be to give the show a modern feel, while still harkening back to the classic storytelling of Bill Bell. Giddens shared, “We want to really pay homage to what Mr. Bell did 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.”

But will Jamey and Dan’s Y&R be high camp? Tension-filled? Romantic with lots of danger and intrigue? Plenty of Big returns and new characters? Stay tuned.

The head scribes did explain, “We want people to be able to just escape for one hour a day into this fantastical world that you also can relate to. We want to bring it back to heightened escapism and a mixture of grounded reality. “

So, Y&R and soap fans, excited to hear Jamey and Dan’s story perspective as the number one soap moves forward in the coming months? What story would you love to see being told with any of the characters currently on the canvas that ids? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Ava’s (Maura West) daughter Avery looks quite different, starting on today’s November 9 episode of General Hospital. That’s because GH has made Avery into a full-blown teenager and the role is now being played by actress Alya Bullington.

In her debut, the Tennessee native was thrown into the deep soap waters with Daytime Emmy winners, Maurice Benard and Eden McCoy (Josslyn). Bullington weighed-in to TV Insider about her first scene which featured Avery overhearing a fight between Sonny and Josslyn.

She explained “It was something I have never done before, I did not have a lot of experience with the screaming and the crying stuff, but I got my first script, and I was like, ‘OK, this is a huge opportunity to learn so much about how that stuff works and to become this character that I have never even tried playing before.’” 

Photo: ABC

THE TEENAGED VERSION OF AVERY WILL HAVE A LOT TO CONTEND WITH

Speaking of working with McCoy, Bullington shared, “She’s incredible. I remember her just laughing and making jokes on set, and then the minute that they started taping, she just locked in and she cried immediately, and my first thought was, ‘I want to be able to do that.’

The soap opera newcomer added, “I think she just inspired me so much because she is so great and she can just lock into whatever character she wants to in the moment.” 

The character of Avery was born back in 2014, but as recently as the October 8 episode of General Hospital, the character was suddenly referred to as a teenager. This is the second young female character in recent months to be aged up following the casting of Kayden Brenna Tokarski as Scout Cain.

As for her take on Avery and what’s ahead, Alya said,“She’s emotional, and she’s curious, and she’s a really fun person to play because so much stuff is happening in her life. I think she’s kind of confused about what’s happening and what to believe.”

So, what do you think about General Hospital making Avery a teenager? Are you excited to see the conflict between Sonny, Ava and Avery now that they have aged up the character? Share your thoughts and welcome Alya to GH via the comment section below.

Alice Halsey is making a return to her Daytime Emmy-nominated role of Rachel Black on Days of our Lives. In a twist, Halsey is actually filling-in for her successor, Lorelei Oliva Mote.

According to TV Insider, an offer went out to Halsey to make a short comeback for four episodes when Mote had a scheduling conflict. The episodes Halsey taped will not be seen until late in 2027, due to Days of our Lives ongoing production schedule which tapes almost a year ahead of dropping new episodes on Peacock.

Mote has been playing Kristen DiMera (Stacy Haiduk) and Brady Black’s (Eric Martsolf) daughter since March 2026. Halsey had stepped away from the role in which she played from April of 2025 to March of 2026, and earned a Daytime Emmy nomination along the way in the Outstanding Emerging Talent category at the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards.

Photo: JPI

FROM ‘LITTLE HOUSE’ TO SALEM

Halsey is now starring in the central role of Laura Ingalls in the Little House on the Prairie reboot on Netflix, which premiered this past June and in which the second season wrapped last month in October.

On coming home to Salem, Halsey shared, “It was very exciting. My parents told me that I would be coming back for a few more episodes, and I was so happy. I was freaking out. I was like, ‘I get to go back to Days. I get to see everybody again.’ And I’m just really glad that I get to be here.”

Stepping into Rachel’s skin after months away from the role, Alice explained, “I came in, and I did my work, and it was just awesome. It was fun, and it reminded me so much of back when I was Rachel before, and it made me even more grateful to be able to be Rachel again.” 

She added “Rachel has matured a little bit more than when I was there, and it’s really fun to be able to play that up. She is older now, and so, of course, Rachel has changed, but my portrayal of her is essentially the same. She’s still the little girl that she used to be.”

Now below, you can check out Michael Fairman TV’s chat with Alice on the red carpet at the 2026 Daytime Emmy Awards via the Michael Fairman Channel, where she furthered discussed being a part of the reboot of the iconic series, Little House on the Prairie, plus loving her Days of our Lives family.

So, what do you think about Alice filling-in for Lorelei Olivia Mote on DAYS? Have you watched her on Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie? Let us knoq via the comment section.