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After all, Drew Barrymore isn’t bringing back her daytime talk show “The Drew Barrymore Show” until the strike ends. The decision comes a week after the actor was criticized for premiering “The Drew Barrymore Show” on September 18 in accordance with WGA guidelines and without writers.
“I have listened to everyone and am making the decision to pause the premiere of the show until the strike is over,” she wrote on Instagram. “I am at a loss for words to sincerely apologize to everyone I have hurt and of course to our incredible team who work on the show and have made it what it is today. We were really trying to find the way forward. And I really hope for a solution for the entire industry soon.”
Barrymore’s decision to continue taping her talk show despite the ongoing labor strikes in Hollywood faced a swift backlash. In response, the National Book Awards rescinded Barrymore’s invitation to host the upcoming annual awards ceremony.
As long as hosts or guests do not discuss or promote the canceled work, Barrymore would not have violated SAG-AFTRA rules. (The Network Code agreement allows daytime hosts to take on hosting duties.) But Barrymore’s show works with union writers, so new episodes would have required hiring non-WGA members (or no one at all) to write the script to write the show.
At the time, the WGA condemned Barrymore’s decision in a statement, saying: “Drew Barrymore should not be on the air while their writers are on strike and fighting for a fair deal.” In reality, shows like this cannot function without writing, and that is successful work.”
“The Jennifer Hudson Show” and “The Talk” have also set plans to restart on Monday, while writers and actors remain on the picket lines. Other morning talk shows that have returned this season include “Live With Kelly and Mark” and “Tamron Hall Show,” both of which have no writer and are not covered by the WGA.
Barrymore apologized in a now-deleted video, saying she made the decision to bring her show back. “I certainly couldn’t have expected this kind of attention,” she said. “I wanted to do this because, like I said, it’s bigger than me and other people’s jobs are at stake.”