News
Y&R Head Writer Josh Griffith on Decision to Revive Matt Clark Story: The Con, Audience Has to “Suspend Belief,” the Pros “Nothing Better Than Being Able to Draw From History”
The Young and the Restless recently launched a soap opera all-star tale with Daytime Emmy winners, Roger Howarth and Tamara Braun joining the iconic daytime drama series Mitch (aka Matt Clark) Bacall and his wife, Sienna Bacall. In addition, to bringing back the character of Noah Newman now played by Lucas Adams, along with seemingly corrupt Detective Burrow played by GH alum, Matt Cohen.
The foursome has been put into a story crafted for Sharon (Sharon Case) and Nick (Joshua Morrow) at its epicenter, and that eventually will bring trouble to the entire Newman family. Soap Opera Digest spoke with Y&R’s executive producer and head writer, Josh Griffith to get his perspective on how he landed on bringing back the nefarious character of Matt Clark, and how he sees his LA noir story tale going down for viewers of the long-running soap.
Looking back at the history of Y&R and noting that Matt Clark died in 2001, and that no one is ever really dead-dead on the soaps, Griffith shared on his decision to go forward with Roger Howarth as the resurrected Matt Clark, when the role was last played by GH’s Rick Hearst. “To me, the only con is that you’ve got to just be able to get the audience to suspend disbelief so they go with it,” shared Josh.”But the pros, for me, much outweigh that, because there’s nothing better than being able to draw from history for a new story.”
Photo: JPI
In getting Sharon and Nick to Los Angeles and to intersect with Matt Clark, the head scribe had to think on a larger overriding element and mystery: “What would pull Nick and Sharon to L.A. would be something horrific happening to Noah. So I wanted the car accident to happen. Out of that, I said, ‘Well, if Noah’s having an affair with Mitch’s wife, then that could lead to the car accident.’ And we start wondering, ‘Was this all a setup for Matt? Did meeting Noah bring back all his anger and all the past, and he set this train wreck of a story in motion because of that?’”
Griffith teased that Matt Clark’s revenge has just escalated. He is angered that his plot to eliminate Noah Newman didn’t work following the car crash, and who he knows is having an affair with his wife. Add to that his hatred of Nick and Sharon, and we have just seen the tip of the iceberg with the guy. As Nick and Sharon eventually head back to Genoa City, they think by leaving Los Angeles, it will scare him off to not come after that, now that they know he is alive and living under a fake identity
Josh explained that the “Second act is definitely they return (to Genoa City), and Matt and all his trouble follow. It becomes a nightmare, not just for Nick and Sharon, but to the whole Newman family.”
So, what do you think thus far of Josh Griffith’s decision to revive the character of Matt Clark, and how the LA noir story is unfolding? Is it holding your interest? Excited to see what’s next? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
Looking back at the history of Y&R and noting that Matt Clark died in 2001, and that no one is ever really dead-dead on the soaps, Griffith shared on his decision to go forward with Roger Howarth as the resurrected Matt Clark, when the role was last played by GH’s Rick Hearst. “To me, the only con is that you’ve got to just be able to get the audience to suspend disbelief so they go with it,” shared Josh.”But the pros, for me, much outweigh that, because there’s nothing better than being able to draw from history for a new story.”
While I am all for suspending disbelief, especially in soap operas, I also must admit: this kind of stuff is exactly why American daytime is mocked and not taken seriously, and I wish it to be one of the tropes dropped altogether from the genre. Yes, it is amazing to draw from history, but it is also one thing to completely ignore it (which I feel Josh Griffith does often) for one’s own perceived worthwhile storyline.
That being said, I am intrigued with the Noah/Sienna connection.
Very excited to see the hell Matt Clark is going to inflict on Nick and Sharon!
I couldnt care less but as much as i admire Mr Howarth why not bring back Eddie Cibrian who is so cute. Just sayin
DING, DING, DING??? You hit the nail on the head.
No, we don’t have to suspend belief! Instead of giving us reworked movies, why not just give us good story and characters. There was no reason to resurrect Matt Clark. Roger Howarth is an amazing actor and could have brought life to any new character. He would have been a perfect match for Phyllis, instead of trying force a relationship between her and Cane. I can’t tell you last time I have watched a full episode of Y&R.
I don’t mind suspending disbelief—as a long time viewer, I accept this as part of watching them. But, suspending disbelief doesn’t work if the story is crap. This one is, as are most of JG’s. It’s almost as if CBS is trying to sink the show by keeping him on the show. Fire him!
In your interview, did you ask about his inability to complete a story line – examples Mariah – when will this non story end? Why Sharon and Phyllis were locked up by a day player and the results? His obsession with the redecorating of the Abbott living room and Diane buying a new couch. I fast forward thanks to the dvr. My watch time is about 18 minutes an episode.
It’s one thing to suspend disbelief but this has happened countless times under Josh Griffith and his writing regime!Honestly nothing against Howard he’s a great actor but if you really wanted the audience to fly with it you would have brought Eddie Cibrian back !
He will never reunite Sharon and Nick though it’s a popular decision but saying that the show is not the show I loved and I will not bitch about it anymore I promise! Do what you want but if this idiot thinks bringing on his friends will increase ratings he really is a fool . The only other pairing Nick had was Phyllis and I don’t need to see that crap again.
I was interested in this story until it was reveal Mitch is Matt Clark. First off the reveal happened too fast. It might have worked if Matt Clark having survive his “death” not only changed his name, but his face, so Nick and Sharon wouldn’t have recognized him– and it was only after months of tormenting them, in some climatic scene he reveals himself to be Matt Clark.
The other major thing wrong with bringing back Matt, is it falls too soon after JG bringing back other characters like Cameron and Ian Ward— and why does mining the past always have to involve bringing back all the psychopaths– when there are so many other former characters that could have spiced up stories– and why do all the storylines have to be about threatening the Newman family either their business or them personally–
The sad truth is these set of characters have run their course, and without investing and developing the younger characters all any head writer can do is rinse and repeat until the show is cancelled, or when the characters that were once Young and Restless are Dead and Buried. Harsh I know, but without new characters to replace the aging out characters–this soap is reaching it’s expiration date.
So well stated. These stories stumble at the gate with the ace card played without suspense.
I totally agree with everything you said. Great post!
Can Josh Griffith bring something new to Y/R not Matt Clark character that died, the bring him back to life again. We who watched the show for years don’t need a repeat of what Matt Clark character might do this go around, he died. Old stuff get rid of JOSH we need new material not material from 2001. This is not creative, its dumb!
Soaps bring back dead people all the time. Wouldn’t it be miraculous if in real life, Bill Bell could be resurrected, then what would Bill Bell do??
Matt Clark died in 2001. Let’s just say I have an imagination, and before Matt died, he got someone pregnant. That offspring would be 24 years old, or older on soaps. Why couldn’t Griffith have had Matt Clark’s son seek whatever revenge he wanted on the Newman family? Clark’s son hears stories from his mother about the Newmans….and this is what sparks his son to terrorize Nick and Sharon! Heck, even GL after Michael Zaslow’s passing, years later, brought his unheard of son to Springfield. Griffith has a vivid imagination, except that it hasn’t worked on Y&R. As another posted, we’re sure this story won’t have a good wrap to it, and Griffith will just leave things hanging as he’s done with other story lines. He’s a lousy head writer, heck, just a lousy writer.
I agree with you Joe 100%
YawneR is in trouble.
I see what they are doing and so I pulled It so making Sharon crazy again enough and Noah is a punk! When does it stop
Josh Griffith needs to go…no mention that Matt came back in to town with a different face. So is this supposed to be Matt with the original face or the new face?? What an absolutely stupid storyline.
It’s okay, Hope it’s not a long story line
News
RATINGS: ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ Catches Fire; Up Over a Half Million Viewers Since Last Year, Inching Closer to ‘The Young and the Restless’ for #1 Slot
The race for the number one show on CBS daytime and overall across all broadcast networks became more intriguing after the latest ratings for the week of June 29-July 3 were released.
According to Soap Opera Network, The Bold and the Beautiful while adding +49,000 total viewers for the week is actually up over +566,000 in comparison to last year at this time. That is over a half million viewers. Additionally, B&B was once clocked in with over 3 million viewers for the week at 3,010,000 tuning in. The week marked its second largest viewership of the current TV season.
In comparison, The Young and the Restless which consistently holds at number #1 came in at 3,217,000 with a net gain of +32,000 and also up + 300,000 from 2025 at this time. This makes 23 weeks in a row that the soap has come in with over 3 million tuning-in.
However, there is now only 200,000 plus lead by Y&R shortening the gap between the two soaps. Additionally, The Bold and the Beautiful once again topped the key demo of women 18-49 besting The Young and the Restless with a 0.22 ratings share of the audience compared to 0.20 share.
Courtesy/CBS
HOPE AND BROOKE’S MOTHER/DAUGHTER SHOWDOWN
On The Bold and the Beautiful, the ratings week featured the fallout of Hope Logan (Annika Noelle) being revealed as the new creative director and lead designer of Logan.
Hope’s decision to keep it a secret from her mother, Brooke Logan Forrester (Katherine Kelly Lang) then showcased major confrontations and showdowns between Brooke and her sister, Katie (Heather Tom), and then Brooke and her daughter, Hope, which ultimately left viewers on the Friday, July 3 cliffhanger with Hope passing out in anguish over betraying her mother.
Photo: JPI
PATTY MAKES HER DEADLY MOVE AGAINST JACK
Over at The Young and the Restless, the week featured the aftermath of Nikki’s (Melody Thomas Scott) surgery to save her eyesight, Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) being stabbed by a vengeful Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk), Kyle (Michael Mealor) rushing to save his mother, Diane Jenkins (Susan Walters), and Billy (Jason Thompson) and Jill (Lauren Koslow filling-in for Jess Walton) trying to settle old grievances.
As for General Hospital, the ABC soap opera came in with just under 2 million viewers adding +27,000 for the week and up +140,000 at this time. Meanwhile, Beyond the Gates had a week of repeats, so it was down to 1,354,000 total viewers but still up +282,000 from last year.
*ratings are derived from Nielsen’s Live+Same Day Big Data+Panel viewing and DVR playback.
So, what do you think of the ratings performance of The Bold and the Beautiful? Was it one of their best week’s in a long time on-screen? Do you think they will soon be able to top The Young and the Restless as number #1 in total viewers, or do you think Y&R will continue to remain the kingpin for some time to come? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ Tamara Tunie Shares Bittersweet Moment of Learning She’s a Daytime Emmy Nominee Following the Loss of ATWT’s Scott Bryce
As many are celebrating their nominations for the upcoming 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on October 30, for some it was a “mixed bag of emotions,” as detailed by first time nominee Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree, Beyond the Gates), who was named as one of the five women in the coveted Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actress category.
The Lead Actress nominations were actually announced on Monday on Entertainment Tonight, ahead of the full nomination announcement by NATAS on Tuesday. Sadly, on Sunday night, Tamara’s longtime friend, and former As the World Turns co-stars, Scott Bryce (ex-Craig Montgomery) passed away from cancer at 68-years-old.
Michael Fairman TV first reported the heartbreaking news of Scott’s death, and his beloved son, Jackson took to his Instagram to announce the death of his father, sharing, “What began as stage three esophageal cancer eventually spread and became brain tumors that took his life away from him.”
Photo: JPI
THE LOSS OF ‘AS THE WORLD TURNS’ CO-STAR
Tamara spoke on receiving the recognition from peers while mourning the loss and trying to process the news of Bryce’s death via heartfelt message on her Instagram on Wednesday. Tunie had appeared on As the World Turns as Jessica Griffin from 1986-1995, 1999-2007 and 2009. She crossed paths with Bryce during several of his runs on the show 1982-1987, 1988-89, 1990, 1993-94 and 2007-08.
In her video message, Tunie explained she was at the airport in Atlanta (where Beyond the Gates is taped) and was heading to Pittsburgh for a speaking engagement, but she took a few moments to address these two moments in her life.
Tamara began her video with, “Hey family. I didn’t want to let any more time go by without expressing some of the emotions I had been feeling over the past couple of days. Many of you know that a dear friend of mine passed Sunday night. He was like a brother to me. We were friends for 40 something years and we actually met on the set of As the World Turns, a daytime drama. Monday, a mere 24 hours later, it was announced that I was nominated for an Emmy award for Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama.”
Sharing how the loss of Scott Bryce has deeply-affected her, Tamara added, “So, you can only imagine the rollercoaster of emotions that I have been feeling since Sunday night. I know my daytime soap opera brother is smiling down on me and cheering me on, and I am so grateful for this recognition from my peers. Being nominated for the first time it’s a mixed bag of feelings I have to tell you.”
Photo: CBS
BEYOND THE GATES FAMILY SCORES BIG IN EMMY NOMINATIONS
However, Tamara took some moments to recognize Beyond the Gates Emmy nomination haul, expressing, “I’m looking forward to the next couple of months leading up to the awards as we continue to create great television. I am so proud of the rest of my cast members, not only those who are nominated, but every single person who works on this show and gives a hundred percent of themselves every single time they show up. Our crew, our production staff, the Beyond the Gates family is truly special.”
“To have these 15 nominations is really extraordinary. Thank you family for watching. Thank you for supporting us. Thank you for supporting me,” concluded Tunie.
You can check out Tamara’s emotional video message below.
Now, let us know, are you happy to see Tamara receiving the first Daytime Emmy nomination of her career for her role as Anita on Beyond the Gates? Do you remember when Tamara and Scott Bryce both appeared on As the World Turns? Share your thoughts on Tamara’s heartbreaking words on his passing via the comment section.
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There’s another new face in Port Charles, when on today’s Wednesday, July 15 on General Hospital, Grady Eldridge made his debut as Simon, a new music executive, who is scouting talent for his record label.
According to Soap Opera Digest, Eldridge is on recurring status with the ABC soap opera, and in story, Simon is the A&R rep responsible for signing music acts and he enters the scene as Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) sets up a musical showcase for Trina (Tabyana Ali) and Gio (Giovanni Mazza) who accompanies her on guitar. As the showcase kicks off, Simon arrives.
While his GH role marks his first on daytime, Grady can currently be seen in the final season of HBO’s comedy hit, Hacks. He has numerous credits in primetime including: Doctor Odyssey, The Sex Lives of College Girls and appeared as Max in the recently released in Jennifer Lopez’s movie office romance.
Eldridge joins several other newcomers have joined the ABC soap including: Dean Geyer as Dr. Tristan Roberts (who first showed up on Monday’s July 13 episode), and Troy Lennon Appel as mysterious businessman, Hudson who shows up later this month.
In addition, GH fans will get the chance to see Kayden Brenna Tokarski who takes over the role of Scout Cain, and Kelly Kruger (ex-Mackenzie Browning, The Young and the Restless) who is the recast Serena Baldwin, who debuts on July 30.
So, do you hope Simon sticks around Port Charles? Do you think Trina and Gio will become a major recording act, or will trouble be brewing with this new music executive, and Brook Lynn will spell t-r-o-u-b-l-e? Let us know your thoughts and impressions after checking out Grady on today’s GH via the comment section.
‘Days of Our Lives’ Christopher Sean Opens Up About His Daytime Emmy Nomination to Honor His Late TV Father, Drake Hogestyn (Exclusive)
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jack Plants a Kiss on Nina; Are You Down With Them as a Couple?
‘The Young and the Restless’ Michelle Stafford Talks On the State of Phyllis and Her Daytime Emmy-Nominated Reel for Lead Actress (Exclusive)
RATINGS: ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ Catches Fire; Up Over a Half Million Viewers Since Last Year, Inching Closer to ‘The Young and the Restless’ for #1 Slot
‘Beyond the Gates’ and NAACP Partner for Contest to Give Winning Viewer a Guest Spot on the 15-time Daytime Emmy Nominated Soap
Scott Bryce, ‘As the World Turns’ Craig Montgomery, Passes Away at 68
Randolph Mantooth, ‘Emergency!’ and ‘Loving’ Actor, Dies at 80
‘The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards’ Nominations Announcement Date Revealed: Who Will Be Going For Gold?
Steve Burton Returns to ‘General Hospital’ on Its 16,000th Episode: How Will Jason Be a Changed Man?
‘Daytime Emmy Nominations Special 2026’ Live on the Michael Fairman Channel
‘Days of Our Lives’ Christopher Sean Opens Up About His Daytime Emmy Nomination to Honor His Late TV Father, Drake Hogestyn (Exclusive)
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jack Plants a Kiss on Nina; Are You Down With Them as a Couple?
‘The Young and the Restless’ Michelle Stafford Talks On the State of Phyllis and Her Daytime Emmy-Nominated Reel for Lead Actress (Exclusive)
‘General Hospital’s’ Amanda Setton Talks Her Reaction, Scenes, and Co-Stars After Becoming a Daytime Emmy Nominee for the First Time (Exclusive)
TONIGHT: Daytime Emmy Nominations Special 2026 Live: Nominated Guest Line-Up
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As The World Turns6 days agoScott Bryce, ‘As the World Turns’ Craig Montgomery, Passes Away at 68
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Breaking News1 week agoRandolph Mantooth, ‘Emergency!’ and ‘Loving’ Actor, Dies at 80
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Beyond the Gates1 week ago‘The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards’ Nominations Announcement Date Revealed: Who Will Be Going For Gold?
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General Hospital1 week agoSteve Burton Returns to ‘General Hospital’ on Its 16,000th Episode: How Will Jason Be a Changed Man?
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Beyond the Gates6 days ago‘Daytime Emmy Nominations Special 2026’ Live on the Michael Fairman Channel
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Beyond the Gates4 days ago53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Announced: ‘The Young and the Restless’ Tops With 18, ‘Beyond the Gates’ With 15
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General Hospital6 days ago‘General Hospital’s’ Rory Gibson Ties the Knot with Alicia Ruelas
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General Hospital1 week agoKelly Kruger Set to Debut on ‘General Hospital’: Why Serena Baldwin Comes Back to Port Charles Revealed
