Drew Barrymore defends talk show revival amid WGA/SAG strikes
Drew Barrymore confirmed that she is going back to the studio – despite the picket lines.
CBS Media Ventures announced last week that the fourth season of The Drew Barrymore Show would premiere on September 18th. Barrymore first commented on her decision to return in light of the ongoing Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes on Sunday, September 10.
“I own this choice,” she wrote in one Statement posted on Instagram on Sunday, September 10th. “We are committed to not discussing or promoting films and television shows that are affected in any way.”
But the WGA picked up X, formerly known as Twitter Encourage picketing on Monday, September 11th, outside the studios of her show in New York City.
“Join us in keeping the pickets outside the door Drew Barrymore Show as they resume recording in the middle of two Hollywood strikes,” they wrote.
Barrymore had previously expressed her solidarity with the WGA resigned from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards on May 4th.
“I love the @mtvawards family and we will be together again next year,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “I hope you will watch the awards ceremony with me on Sunday because there are such wonderful moments to enjoy. I stand with the @wgaeast @wgawest.”
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In her final statement, Barrymore explained that she stepped away from moderation because she was “in direct conflict with the subjects of the strike, namely studios, streamers, film and television.”
But now she makes the decision to return to her talk show.
“I want to be there to convey what authors do so well, and that is a way to bring us together or help us understand the human experience,” she wrote. “I hope for a solution as quickly as possible for everyone. We have overcome difficult times since we first came on the air. And so I take a step forward to begin Season 4 once again with astute humility.”
The Drew Barrymore Show was launched in 2020 and was “designed for sensitive times and has only worked through what the real world is going through in real time,” Barrymore wrote in her statement.
A celebrity hairdresser is planned for the fourth season Chris Appleton and a new segment called “Take Care Everywhere” with Barrymore and founder of Menopause Bootcamp Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz. The talk show will continue to feature segments such as “Drew-Gooders,” “Designed by Drew” and “Cookbook Club.”
However, Barrymore will not be able to feature actors promoting films or scripted TV shows from studios within the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which typically make up a significant portion of their roster.
On May 1, the WGA went on strike over concerns about streaming platforms’ backlogs and the use of artificial intelligence to create scripts. The more than 11,000 authors were joined in July by SAG-AFTRA, which has similar concerns about things like artificial intelligence and who owns an actor’s likeness if reproduced.
