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Drew Barrymore Halts Talk Show Return After Backlash, Will Resume When Strike Ends

Drew Barrymore isn’t bringing back her daytime talk show “The Drew Barrymore Show” until the strike ends, after all.

The decision comes a week after the actor was criticized for saying “The Drew Barrymore Show” would premiere on Sept. 18 in compliance with WGA guidelines and without writers.

“I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore wrote on Instagram. “I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who works on the show and has made it what it is today. We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.”

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“We support Drew’s decision to pause the show’s return and understand how complex and difficult this process has been for her,” a spokesperson for CBS Media Ventures told Variety in a statement.

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“The Drew Barrymore Show” will air repeats for the foreseeable future, a knowledgeable individual told Variety. Episodes that were taped last week when the show went back into production will not air.

The WGA has canceled planned pickets of “The Drew Barrymore Show.” Striking guild members will be picketing “The View,” which is a WGA-covered struck show, on Monday.

Barrymore faced intense blowback for her decision to resume taping her talk show despite Hollywood’s ongoing labor strikes. Variety reported on Saturday that part of Barrymore’s choice to bring back the show stemmed from contractual obligations with station partners across the daytime TV business. As part of the fallout, National Book awards rescinded Barrymore’s invitation to host its upcoming annual award ceremony.

As long as hosts or guests don’t discuss or promote struck work, Barrymore wouldn’t have been violating SAG-AFTRA rules. (The Network Code agreement allows daytime hosts to perform hosting duties.) But Barrymore’s show operates with union writers, so new episodes would have required moving forward without their writers on staff.

At the time, the WGA condemned Barrymore’s decision in a statement, saying, “Drew Barrymore should not be on the air while her writers are on strike fighting for a fair deal. In reality, shows like this cannot operate without writing, and that is struck work.” The Guild has not responded to request for comment about Barrymore’s reversal in programming.

Following Barrymore’s pause, CBS’ “The Talk” and “The Jennifer Hudson Show” also announced they would no longer return on Monday as planned. Other daytime talk shows that have returned this season include “The View,” which has been airing without its writers, as well as “Live With Kelly and Mark” and “Tamron Hall Show,” neither of which have writers and are not covered by the WGA.

Barrymore apologized over the weekend in a now-deleted video, in which she says she owned the choice to bring back her show. “I certainly couldn’t have expected this kind of attention,” she said. “I wanted to do this because as I said, this is bigger than me, and there are other people’s jobs on the line.”

VIP+ Video: Variety Experts on Hollywood’s Strike Status

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