Y&R Headwriter Reveals Why They Didn't Bring Keemo Back

The introduction last month of Kelsey Wang’s Allie to THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS was a perfect example of the soap drawing upon its rich history in adding a new character to the canvas. As Jack’s granddaughter, Allie has ties to many legacy Y&R characters and focuses the storyline on the younger generation of Abbotts. But why did the soap decide to not have Allie’s father — Jack’s firstborn son, Keemo — be a part of the unfolding tale? According to a new interview with Soap Opera Digest, headwriter Josh Griffith said there was simply more story to mine by not having Keemo be a part of it.

“What if he passed away, causing Jack great conflict?” the scribe mused, adding that the unfinished business between the Vietnam veteran and his off-screen son “was always there,” hanging around in the Y&R canon. “How can we make it so it’s not the typical reunion between father and son? What’s the other level to that?”

Y&R Alile Jack — “With the death of her father, she feels all alone in Los Angeles,” Griffith said of Allie, “so she’s willing to take the first step toward her new family.”Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

Brainstorming amongst the soap’s writers led to the concept of Keemo having a child that his father knew nothing about — but that Jack’s presumed-dead ex, Diane, did! “What if Keemo is dead and there’s a grandchild, a whole new Abbott, out there?” shared Griffith, adding that they were intentional in removing Allie’s father from the equation. “We wanted to lead this in one direction and not have it be what everyone would presume. If we reunited Jack and Keemo, we asked ourselves, ‘Then what?’ That felt more like the resolve of the story as opposed to a new beginning. Allie feels more like the start of a new story.”

Griffith teased that “there’s a lot of twists to this story that will come out” as Allie settles into relocating to Genoa City and getting to know her paternal relatives. “Through finding the Abbotts, Allie finds herself,” he explained. “And there’s still this whole other side of why is she estranged from her mom? All she had was her dad and now she has no one, but she’s left with a grandfather that she never knew existed. She’ll be coming into this very cautiously and she’ll have a wonderful journey to take.”

So stay tuned to see what happens next!