Three of The Drew Barrymore Show’s writers say they will not return to the talk show after the host originally planned to return to the show during the then-ongoing WGA strike.
Chelsea White, Cristina Kinon and Liz Koe have all turned down job offers for the show’s fourth season, sources told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday.
Insiders told THR that White, Kinon and Koe – all co-writers – were with the series throughout its run.
They had been “visible and vocal” when Barrymore initially decided to cross the picket line on her return to the air, before the fallout led her to put the show on hold until the strike ended.
The show is currently in the interview process with writers to replace the departed trio and will be in stores in lockstep with WGA rules, insiders told THR.
The Latest: Three of The Drew Barrymore Show’s writers say they will not be returning to the talk show after the host originally planned to resume the show during the then-ongoing WGA strike, as the eponymous talk show has set a return date following its strike controversy
Strike Line: On September 12, WGA members were seen picketing outside Barrymore’s New York studios after Barrymore took steps to restart the talk show amid the strike
The trio of writers had demonstrated in front of the New York studios, holding signs that read “Drew’s News: Strikes” and “Honk if you.” [love] Union work,” the outlet reported.
The three writers were also put off by the lack of communication throughout the process, having found out that Barrymore was returning to the air through social media advertising for tickets to the show.
White told THR on Sept. 11 that it was “bummer to hear that the show is going back because it sends the message that union writers aren’t valuable.”
When asked if she would return to her segment on the show after the strike ends, White had “no comment.”
Kinon told the outlet, “I understand that everyone has to do what they think is best for them.” For me and the WGA writers on the series, it’s important that we stay true to our union. “We deserve a fair contract, that’s why we’re standing out here today.”
The staff shakeup comes as Barrymore’s eponymous talk show has set a return date following the writers’ strike controversy.
The upcoming premiere date of season four was announced on Wednesday via the TV show’s official social media accounts.
Along with a happy photo of the 48-year-old host making a tearful apology last month amid intense backlash, the caption read: “This has just arrived: we’re kicking off our brand new season on Monday, October 16th!”
Update: The upcoming fourth season premiere date was announced on Wednesday via the TV show’s official social media accounts; Drew was pictured in an apology video shared online last month after she was criticized for wanting to continue the show amid the WGA strike
It comes shortly after the Writers Guild of America’s months-long strike was settled with a new three-year contract.
Barrymore faced resistance after initially planning to resume the show on September 18 despite the then-ongoing strike.
With the decision at the time to resume her show, Barrymore technically did not violate the WGA or SAG-AFTRA rules, the outlet reported.
“The Drew Barrymore Show is produced under the Network Television Code, which is a separate contract and is not finalized,” a SAG-AFTRA representative told the network. “It is permissible work and Drew’s role as host does not violate current strike rules.”
The revamped return came after fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to trash the actress after the deal with the new writers was finalized. One person wrote: “She could have just waited a week or two.”
Another person shared a similar sentiment with a post that said, “Lmao if Drew Barrymore had just waited a week she could have avoided this social media attack now that WGA did it.” [stopped] noticeable.’
Someone else shared a video of a woman hitting her head on a table and joked: “Drew Barrymore realized she could have just waited a week for the strike to end.”
And yet another fan shared a crying emoji and wrote, “I bet Drew Barrymore wishes she had waited like a week or so to make that announcement.”
Reaction: As news of the show’s return spread online, fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to troll the actress. One person wrote: “She could have just waited a week or two.”
Similar sentiment: Another person shared a post that read, “Lmao if Drew Barrymore had just waited a week she could have avoided this social media attack now that WGA did it.” [stopped] noticeable’
Humorous: Someone else shared a video of a woman banging her head on a table, joking: “Drew Barrymore realized she could have just waited a week for the strike to end.”
Funny: A fan shared a crying emoji and wrote, “I bet Drew Barrymore wished she would wait like a week or so to make this announcement.”
Last month, Barrymore was called out for her lack of solidarity with the WGA, prompting her to post – and later delete – a video asking for fans’ forgiveness.
She announced that she was reversing her decision after the backlash, writing on Instagram: “I have listened to everyone and am making the decision to pause the premiere of the show until the strike is over.”
“I don’t have the words to sincerely apologize to everyone I hurt and of course to our incredible team who work on the show and made it what it is today.”
“We have really tried to find the way forward.” And I really hope for a solution for the entire industry soon.”
The backtracking came after she said in the aforementioned video, “I wanted to make a decision so it wasn’t a PR-protected situation and I would just take full responsibility for my actions.”
“I don’t think there’s anything I can do or say at this moment to make everything right,” she said through tears.
“I fully accept that. I completely understand that. There are so many reasons why this is so complex and I just want everyone to know that my intentions have never been more capable of upsetting or hurting me.
“That’s not who I am.” I’ve been through so many ups and downs in my life and this is one of them. I deeply apologize to the authors. I deeply apologize to the unions.’
Apology Statement: Last month, Barrymore decided to pause the show’s September premiere
She added: “It’s the big question of why – why am I doing this?”
“Well, I certainly couldn’t have expected this kind of attention, and we’re not going to break any rules and stick to them.” I wanted to do this because like I said, this is bigger than me and other people’s jobs are at stake .”
The writers were allowed to resume work late last month after the WGA reached agreement on a three-year deal with an alliance of the industry’s largest studios, streaming services and production companies.
Union leaders hailed the deal as a victory on issues such as pay, staff size and use of artificial intelligence, noting that the months of picketing were worth it.
After filing suit in July, actors began strikes in July over many of the same issues as writers.
SAG-AFTRA leaders said they would closely examine the benefits and trade-offs of the WGA deal, but noted that their demands would remain the same as when the strike began.