Mal Young Replaces Jill Farren Phelps as Executive Producer at 'The Young and the Restless'

Mal Young

Mal Young has replaced Jill Farren Phelps as executive producer of The Young and the Restless, Soap Central confirms.

Earlier this morning, Young tweeted out "Day 1"

Day 1

— mal young (@malyoung) June 8, 2016

Last last night, Jamey Giddens from Daytime Confidential confirmed that the controversial Phelps had been sent packing from Genoa City.

“On behalf of everyone at the show, we extend our sincere thanks to Jill for her years at Y&R and wish her continued success,” said Steve Kent, senior executive vice president, US programming for Sony Pictures Television.

Young was brought in by The Young and the Restless as a supervising producer in January of this year. What does this switch mean for the soap? Stay tuned.

Jill Farren Phelps Out at 'The Young and the Restless'?

Jill Farren Phelps

Jill Farren Phelps, who became executive producer of The Young and the Restless in 2012, is out the door according to tweets by Jamey Giddens from Daytime Confidential.

Giddens previously teased the news on May 28

Yes, my lovelies, JFP got the boot. I'm not at home to blog it, so I've been teasing. She was my blind item. #YR

— Jamey_Giddens (@Jamey_Giddens) June 8, 2016

He followed it up with another tweet saying it isn't her choice to leave.

Oh, and there won't be any "her decision" stuff as I'd first heard. This is a straight up termination. #YR

— Jamey_Giddens (@Jamey_Giddens) June 8, 2016

More news as it develops!

Peter Bergman Debuted as Jack Abbott on 'The Young and the Restless' 25 Years Ago Today

Peter Bergman was recently celebrated on the set of Y&R for his 25 years as Jack Abbott.

Three-time Daytime Emmy winner Peter Bergman made his first appearance as Jack Abbott on CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless on November 27, 1989.

Bergman's first day on the Y&R set was "daunting and kind of lonely, frankly," he said in a recent TV Guide Magazine interview. "I got along with everybody but — coming from All My Children where everyone was a tight family, talking, connecting, running lines with each other — it took me a while to adjust to things at Y&R. I felt I was a one-man army against the establishment. Everybody was off in their fabulous Hollywood dressing rooms — well, fabulous by New York standards — and I felt kind of isolated, alone in it all."

"Every prop guy and lighting technician knew more about my character than I did and let me know it," Bergman added, with a laugh. Jess Walton [Jill] was "simply wonderful from the moment I met her and such a character! Jerry Douglas [John] was a larger-than-life guy whose hairpiece was flipping all over the place. And he was very comfortable without his shirt on. That first day he pulled me into his dressing room to tell me all about the importance of the Jack-John relationship and I'm, like, 'I don't even know your name yet and you don't have any clothes on.' It was absolutely insane."

Watch Bergman's 1989 debut below as well as a recent onset celebration which included kind words from fellow cast members Eric Braeden (Victor Newman), Eileen Davidson (Ashley Abbott) and Jerry Douglas (ex-John Abbott), as well as executive producer Jill Farren Phelps.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Brittany Underwood on Playing Bad, and a 'One Life to Live' Reunion on 'Youthful Daze'

Left: Brittany Underwood. Right: Sarah Hester, Mike C. Manning and Brittany Underwood.

Actress Brittany Underwood is well-known for a memorable six-year stint as Langston Wilde on daytime drama One Life to Live, as well as her role as Lauren Tate in primetime soap opera Hollywood Heights. She guest stars on ABC's The Goldbergs on Wednesday, October 22 as Jill Rubin.

Underwood has also joined the cast of another serialized drama, hit web series Youthful Daze, as Sheila Edmundson, a character bound to cause heaps of trouble for anyone who crosses her path.

Serial Scoop spoke with Underwood about her new character, the One Life to Live reunion taking place on the set of Youthful Daze (David Gregory and Nic Robuck will soon arrive on the canvas), how her Youthful Daze executive producer Bryan James is different than her former executive producers Frank Valentini and Jill Farren Phelps, and to find out if she too will be joining The Young and the Restless, as several of her former Hollywood Heights co-stars have. Read our exclusive interview below:

SERIAL SCOOP: It’s a One life to Live reunion on Youthful Daze.
BRITTANY UNDERWOOD: I know. I know. I was very excited about that. It’s so funny because Nic (Robuck, who played James on One Life to Live) was asking me what I was doing as he was seeing all of my tweets about Youthful Daze and he was curious, as a lot of my actor friends are.  I told Bryan James I have friends that are curious and it’s really exciting and how Nic Robuck from One Life to Live was asking me about it.  A few days later Bryan came back and asked, "What if we had Nic on the show? He could be this…" I was like oh my god, that’s so amazing, and that would be so much fun. I love Nic and getting to act with him. It's really fun.

Charles Pratt, Jr. Named Head Writer of 'The Young and the Restless', Joins Jill Farren Phelps as Executive Producer

Chuck Pratt & Y&R's new head writer.

The Young and the Restless is making a a major change behind the scenes. Highlight Hollywood is reporting that Y&R executive producer Jill Farren Phelps has hired Charles "Chuck" Pratt, Jr. as the new head writer of the soap. Daytime Confidential confirms the news, adding Pratt will also receive an executive producer credit, although Phelps reportedly remains in charge.

Pratt is known for his scripting of primteime serials Melrose Place and Models, Inc., as well as daytime soap operas Santa Barbara, Sunset Beach, General Hospital and All My Children. His other credits include Pacific Palisades, Ugly Betty, The Colbys, Desperate Housewives, and Beverly Hills, 90210.

In 2000, he created primetime soap Titans with Aaron Spelling.

"Titans has unleashed in me things I missed writing," Pratt said at the time. "I don't mean soap operas and melodramas - I mean characters who have some wit, intelligence and bite to them."

Kelly Sullivan Joins 'The Young and the Restless' as Sage Warner

Emmy-nominated former General Hospital actress Kelly Sullivan has joined the cast of CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless.

She will play Sage Warner, who is described as "intelligent, competent, discreet, and reserved. However, that reserve masks a well of passion and fire beneath the surface. She'll do anything for those she loves."

"I’m incredibly honored and flattered to even be considered to be part of the Young and Restless family," Sullivan told Soap Opera Digest, who first reported the news. "I’m also thrilled to be working with [Executive Producer] Jill Farren Phelps again like we did on GH."

For now, the role is recurring, and Sullivan starts taping on September 24. Her first air date is set for October 28.

Sullivan played Connie Falconeri/Kate Howard on GH from 2011-2013, when her character was murdered by Ava Jerome (Maura West).  She made a return visit in March.

RELATED:
* 'The Young and the Restless' Sneak Peek: Kelly Sullivan Debuts as Sage Warner

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Jen Lilley on 'Youthful Daze,' and What's Ahead for Theresa in 'Days of our Lives'

Jen Lilley. Photo Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty

Born in Roanoke, Virginia, Jen Lilley didn't start acting until attending the University of Virginia when she played the lead in an indie film called The Loss of Life. After that, she fell in love with acting and averaged six indie films a semester. In addition to acting, she is also a talented singer, dancer and comedian, performing in many improv casts, including the Upright Citizens Brigade.

Her many film and television credits include the critically acclaimed feature film The Artist, Disaster Date, Castle, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, Criminal Minds and iCarly. From 2011-12 she starred as Maxie Jones on ABC's General Hospital.

Lilley currently stars as mischievous bad girl Theresa Donovan on NBC's Days of our Lives, and will soon be seen as Natalie Cardin in Youthful Daze.

Serial Scoop recently caught up with Lilley to discuss her soap roles, and to find out more about her Youthful Daze character. Read our exclusive interview below:

SERIAL SCOOP: Serial Scoop named you as one of our top 10 Sensational Summer Performers as Theresa on Days of our Lives.
JEN LILLEY: What! Really? That's amazing! I’m having a blast on Days. I never knew how much I could love one job. I love it so much.

Gina Tognoni Debuts as the New Phyllis Newman on 'The Young and the Restless'; Can Daytime's Top-Rated Soap Regain Its Magic?

Near the end of the Monday, August 14 episode of The Young and the Restless, Jack Abbott (Three-time Emmy winner Peter Bergman) arrived in Georgia to visit his fiance Phyllis Summers Newman. Well, they were engaged a year ago when Phyllis tumbled down a flight of stairs and went into a coma, and before he fell in love with Kelly Andrews (Two-time Emmy winner Cady McClain). But a lot has changed over the past 12 months, and he's come to tell his comatose love that he's moving on. This wasn't the same Phyllis that left Y&R after a reunion with Jack; Michelle Stafford has moved on to General Hospital, where she's giving a fascinating performance as Nina Clay (coincidentally another character that recently came out of a coma). As Jack settled in next to the woman he has loved on and off for years, viewers heard the voice of Jessica Collins (Avery) say in that old school soap opera way, "The role of Phyllis Newman is now being played by Gina Tognoni," and saw her face. The two-time Emmy Award-winning Tognoni had finally made her first appearance on daytime's top-rated drama.

Just before Jack took Phyllis' hand, he said, "It's good to see you, Red."

Yes, it was!

'The Young and the Restless' Executive Producer Jill Farren Phelps: 'Stuff Happens and People Leave. People Die. The Show Must Go On'

In the July 14, 2014 issue of Soap Opera Digest, executive producer Jill Farren Phelps gave a "state of the union" on The Young and the Restless, after winning a record nine awards at the recent Daytime Emmys.

"I think the show is really firing… I am very happy that we are showcasing our veteran actors and the story that allows Melody [Thomas Scott, Nikki], Lauralee [Bell, Christine] and Doug [Davidson, Paul] to shine. They are wonderful actors and they have such a rich history with Y&R."

When asked about how the quest to find a new Adam Newman (last played by Michael Muhney) is going, Phelps only said, "it's going," but did add that when the time comes for Adam to return, it’s going to "blow the canvas wide open."

'The Young and the Restless' Executive Producer Jill Farren Phelps Says Daytime Soaps Today Have 'An Overall Hipper Viewing Audience'

The Young and the Restless executive producer Jill Farren Phelps, Peter Bergman (who plays Jack Abbott) and Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea Newman) recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the rise in soap opera viewership this past year. Soaps are up 15% which bodes well for the industry.

According to Phelps, "The stories have more edge, there are quicker editing cuts and newer music. The pace, tone and sophistication have changed. We have smarter viewers, and I think that's true of all the soaps. It's an overall hipper viewing audience."

Bergman says, "Yes, we've reduced the number of soaps, but there are still enough people who think, 'That's my kind of entertainment; let's see what's left.'

Mariah Copeland: An Unseen 'Young and the Restless' Character Is Suddenly Part of Three Storylines

Mariah Copeland is young, and certainly restless, but at what point did the writers of The Young and the Restless decide to make Mariah and Fake Cassie one in the same?  Was this a brilliant plan from the very beginning?  Viewers have been debating that question online ever since it was revealed that the character Camryn Grimes has been playing the past several months (FauxCassie, FakeCassie, doppelCassie), the one getting paid by Victor Newman to torment Sharon because she looks just like Sharon's dead daughter, is also the stalker ex-fiancee of Tyler Michaelson (Redaric Williams).

Not only is Mariah a dead ringer for the late Cassie Newman (also played by Grimes) but, according Tyler and and his sister, Leslie (Angell Conwell), she is similar in some way to Lily Winters Ashby (Chritel Khalil) as well.  In 2013 Y&R developed a bad habit of talking about characters that never actually appeared, or appeared much later.  It wasn't clear for a while if Mariah was actually ever going to show up.

Here's what we know: