Drew Barrymore, who has faced criticism for taping new episodes of her daytime talk show despite ongoing writer and actor strikes, now says she will wait until the labor issues are resolved. Hours later, CBS’ “The Talk” did the same.
“I have listened to everyone and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore posted on Instagram on Sunday. “I have no words to express my deepest apologies to everyone I have hurt and of course to our incredible team who worked on the show and made it what it is today.”
Barrymore’s initial decision to return to the air Monday — without her three union writers and with picketers outside her studio — was met with resistance on social media. Her show resumed in New York last week and was nicked by notable writers.
“We support Drew’s decision to pause the show’s return and understand how complex and difficult this process has been for her,” a CBS Media Ventures spokesperson said.
Other daytime shows have resumed. “The View” is back for its 27th season on ABC, while “Tamron Hall” and “Live With Kelly and Ryan” — neither of which fall under the writers’ guild rules — have also produced new episodes. “The Jennifer Hudson Show” resumes Monday.
But “The Talk” scrapped the reboot, scheduled for Monday. “We will continue to evaluate plans for a new launch date,” CBC said in a statement on Sunday.
Ariel Dumas, head writer and supervising producer for “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” responded to I hope @TheView and others will follow suit.”
As long as the hosts and guests don’t discuss or promote the work covered by television, theater or streaming contracts, they aren’t technically breaking the strike. That’s because talk shows are covered by a separate contract – called the Network Code – than the contract that actors and writers stand out. The Network Code also covers reality TV, sports, morning news programs, soap operas and game shows.
Barrymore’s stance prompted the National Book Awards to invite her to host in November. The organization has withdrawn its invitation “in light of the announcement that ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ will resume production.”
The ongoing strike pits Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Disney, Netflix, Amazon and others.