Those casting calls Soap Opera Digest first published detailing The Young and the Restless looking to fill two seemingly "new" African-American, 20-something roles caused quit the poop storm. Not only did fans and soap journos start to wonder if the calls were meant to replace actors currently on the Y&R canvas—namely Christel Khalil and Bryton James—but a casting associate from CBS was attached on a strongly-worded email sent to Daytime Confidential about posting the news!

Uh, hello. We LINKED the information — which was published by the leading print magazine covering daytime soaps! CBS minions, you might wanna do your homework before you start threatening one of the most popular and influential blogs covering this genre with frivolous lawsuits — especially for publishing CASTING CALLS clearly linked to another publication! What's next, you gonna sue Backstage? And here we've been being so positive about this new regime...

 Since when does CBS and/or their casting peeps get so ticked about routine casting calls? Maybe the calls really weren't so routine after all?
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Is diversity once again becoming a priority at CBS Daytime's The Young and the Restless? The sudser that gave us Dru, Neil, Malcolm and Liv in the 90's and 00's has put out another casting call, this time for an African-American female in her mid-20's named "Sally Tate".
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Get ready to say goodbye to ousted showrunner Maria Arena Bell's version of The Young and the Restless, kids! I'm hearing new material from executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and head writer Josh Griffith will begin airing by early-to-mid October. READ MORE

Looks like the first order of business for The Young and the Restless' new executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and head writer Josh Griffith is diversity. Soap Opera Digest is reporting Y&R put out a casting call for an African American male in his late 20's to early 30's to play the contract role of "Tyler Douglas". According to the magazine, Douglas' backstory is:

Orphaned at 16. Worked his way through college and now has an MBA. He's driven to succeed. Smart, energetic. Well-read. Smoothly sexy and confident, with a witty, sometimes cynical sense of humor. READ MORE

Soap Opera Digest has posted more lyrics from fired The Young and the Restless showrunner Maria Arena Bell's Facebook swan song. In it, she continues on about how much everyone loved her and how devastated they all are.

Funny, the Y&R cast has been pretty much radio silent on Twitter. Love her or hate her, but when Ri Ri's Y&R replacement, Jill Farren Phelps, was shown the door at General Hospital, much of the cast tweeted support — in their own words. As it is though, La Bell is only too happy to share how beloved she was, whether anyone else is saying it or not! Stated Bell:

"When I said my farewell today to the company of The Young and The Restless I stood between Eric Braeden [Victor], Peter Bergman [Jack], Melody Thomas Scott [Nikki] and addressed everyone. Then, spontaneously, each of them said something that was profoundly moving to me about how much they appreciated me, my work, my storytelling, my vision. The moment that will stay with me for the rest of my life was looking out at a se...a of faces, many of them in tears. And then Eric Braeden who was choking back tears himself to the point he could barely speak said that my leaving was a travesty that made no sense and that "This is the end of an era." In that moment I could feel my heart break a little... but I also felt that the commitment I had to that show... the seven day a week fifty two week a year craziness of it all was worth it... because I was part of the history of something truly great."

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On Wednesday, I told y'all I was hearing that Jill Farren Phelps was thisclose to being named executive producer of The Young and the Restless. I also reported I was hearing her Hollywood Heights collaborator Josh Griffith was rumored to follow Phelps as Y&R's new head writer.Today, Sony Pictures Television's Steve Kent has confirmed my reporting via a press release.

“We are excited to have such a talented daytime veteran leading our team at ‘Y&R.’  Jill has a stellar record of success in the daytime genre,” said Kent. “We are also happy to welcome Josh back to THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and are looking forward to his creative input and ideas.”

“On behalf of everyone at ‘Y&R,’ we extend our sincere thanks to Emmy® Award-winning Maria Bell for her contributions to the show over the last five years. We wish her the best of luck and continued success,” he added.

To see the full press release, keep reading after the jump!
 

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