The Young and the Restless Exclusive: Head Writer Josh Griffith on Why Nick’s OD Is Not Rock Bottom
On The Young and the Restless, Nick (Joshua Morrow) managed to survive an overdose due to the quick actions of Matt (Roger Howarth) and Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) — but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the worst is behind him in his battle with addiction. Head Writer Josh Griffith gave Soap Opera Digest the inside scoop on crafting Nick’s crisis and why even his near-fatal OD doesn’t represent a rock bottom for the addict.
Nick’s Struggles Continue
Griffith says that the idea for Nick to fight addiction came to him as he began plotting out Matt Clark’s return and its impact on his longtime enemy. “It was cause and effect,” he explains. “As Nick was fighting Matt and things got so conflicted between the two of them, leading to a car accident, putting him in the hospital, I saw the golden opportunity for us to take Nick on a journey that he’s never gone on before. It’s so easy for this to happen, sadly and frighteningly; it’s so easy for in situations like that for people to become addicted. I thought, ‘This can spin out to a story where we can take Nick to a whole new arena for him emotionally and psychologically — and coming out of that, build and enrich that character and add aspects that we’ve never seen before.”
But brace yourself, Nick fans: Griffith does not consider Nick’s near-fatal overdose to be rock bottom for the struggling Y&R hero. “I don’t want it to be that easy,” he proclaims. “I don’t want it to be, ‘You reach this moment and then suddenly, “Okay, I turned my life around.”‘ No, it’s still going to be a struggle. And there may be different levels of rock bottom, different versions of rock bottom. I think that he’s ready to face [his addiction], but that doesn’t always mean you can overcome it,” the writer points out. “Sometimes the addiction continues to get the upper hand. As much as you want to fight it, and as much as you try to get the treatment you need, there’s always going to be the threat of stumbles.”
And even though getting his addiction in check won’t be accomplished overnight, the OD does have a major impact on Nick. “I think he gains a new awareness of the fragility of life,” Griffith says. “And that’s going to give him a different and more enriched perspective on what he does have — and what he almost lost.”
Nearly losing Nick before their very eyes will also have repercussions for his loved ones. Griffith declares, “The ramifications through the family will be earth-shattering for all of them, from horror to pathos to even anger. ‘How could you let this happen to yourself?’ Irrational anger, you know? Especially from Nikki [Melody Thomas Scott, who herself is an alcoholic and has struggled with that for so long.”
Rumor Has It
A silver lining amid the chaos? Nick and Adam (Mark Grossman) forging a stronger bond through Adam’s efforts to help Nick through his addiction. “I think it’s changed the dynamic between them completely,” Griffith asserts. “I think it’s given Nick a respect for his brother that he maybe didn’t have before, and it’s given Adam a realization that as angry as he can be and as much as he can sometimes feel that he’s an out seen as an outcast by Nick, he really does love this man.”
The result, Griffith adds, is that Nick and Adam “are in a place where they can now be actual brothers. It solidifies the blood between them in a way that they have sort of fought against since Adam came to town.”
One things viewers should not expect as Nick’s story continues to unfold is any sort of shenanigans between Nick and Sienna (Tamara Braun), his son Noah’s (Lucas Adams) lover. Griffith says a firm “no” when asked if a romantic pairing between Nick and Sienna is anywhere on his radar. “Even in the throes of addiction, Nick is too good a father,” Griffith assures. “He could never betray his son that way… Put that rumor to rest!”
As for what does lie ahead for Noah and Sienna, Griffith teases that while “their relationship will strengthen immensely as they deal with more fallout from Matt’s intrusion into the Newman life, there will be, from Sienna’s point of view…. not concern, but defensiveness of Noah’s past relationship with Audra [Zuleyka Silver].”
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