The Young And The Restless Exec Mal Young Supports Kristoff St. John!

The executive producer and new head writer of The Young and Restless, Mal Young, said he wants more screen time for two underutilized Emmy-winners on his show — Kristoff St. John (Neil) and Bryton James (Devon).

Young talked to Soap Opera Digest for its October 30th issue to outline his plans as the show’s chief storyteller.

The Hamilton-Winters Group
Young didn’t reveal in great detail what will be happening with each character, but he did speak about his philosophies on storytelling, specifically how he wants to pace the stories and that he doesn’t plan on any major cast additions.

However, he did single out two characters — Neil and Devon — that he feels have been “a little bit on the back burner for my tastes, so I’d like to see them more. I find them terrific actors, really interesting characters.”

Much Needed Support
Young conducted the interview prior to the reports breaking over the weekend that St. John has been hospitalized following a psychiatric evaluation. Hopefully, the fact that Y&R is looking to utilize the fan favorite more often will bring comfort to St. John during this difficult time.

Respected Actor
St. John is one of daytime’s most respected actors. He has been nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy awards in all three actor categories, winning in 1992 for Outstanding Younger Leading Actor and in 2008 for Outstanding Supporting Actor. He was nominated last year for Outstanding Lead Actor.

Check out the clip below of his submission reel. And break out the tissues. The scenes involve Neil’s reunion with his dying mother, Lucinda, played by Nichelle Nichols, best known to TV viewers as Lt. Uhura from Star Trek.

Soap Hub sends best wishes to St. John and his family and we hope to see Neil back on screen in a frontburner story soon!

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. Check local listings for time and channel.