John F. Smith is an American soap opera writer and producer. During the WGA strike, he chose financial core status with the WGA and continued working. Smith is best known for his stints as head writer of The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless. Prior to Smith's tenure on Y&R, there was a period of widespread audience erosion. When John Smith was producer, ratings decreased by over 2 million viewers. Most of the decrease occurred in 2004 when Smith co-wrote the show with longtime Y&R scribe, Kay Alden.