'Drew Barrymore Show' writers decline to return as show sets premiere date after strike (2024)

“The Drew Barrymore Show” has set a new premiere date for Season 4 after the Hollywood writers’ strike ended last week.

The syndicated daytime talk show is scheduled to return Oct. 16, according to “The Drew Barrymore Show” Instagram account. Barrymore previously postponed the launch of Season 4 after receiving widespread criticism for announcing it would resume production during the writers’ strike.

All three co-head writers previously employed on Barrymore’s program — Cristina Kinon, Chelsea White and Liz Koe — have declined offers to return, the Los Angeles Times has confirmed. The show is in the process of interviewing new writers in compliance with guild rules.

“I am so excited to see what Drew has in store for season four,” said Wendy McMahon, president of CBS Media Ventures, in a statement before the premiere was pushed back.

“From launching during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to successfully pivoting to a groundbreaking half-hour format, this show has demonstrated spectacular resilience and creative agility on its journey to becoming the fastest-growing show in daytime. We couldn’t have a better partner in Drew Barrymore and look forward to bringing our fans and station clients alike new episodes this fall,” said McMahon.

In early September, Barrymore announced that her talk show would begin filming again during the writers’ strike, despite employing multiple members of the Writers Guild of America. CBS Media Ventures, which produces “The Drew Barrymore Show,” backed the decision and said that talent would “not be performing any writing work covered by the WGA strike.”

The announcement sparked a swift backlash from the WGA and its allies, who accused the actor and TV host of crossing the picket line. Members of the WGA — including all of Barrymore’s writers — picketed a subsequent taping of the program in New York City.

“I can understand why, if someone feels responsible for an entire staff and crew, they would want to get back to work so that they get paid,” Kinon said at the time.

“If you feel like you’re sacrificing three writers for a crew of hundreds, I see that perspective. But then if you zoom out a little bit more, you’ll see that it isn’t about those three writers. It’s about an entire union of 11,000-plus writers. And if you zoom out even more, it’s about labor and unions all over the world and respecting that people need to fight for a fair deal. That’s what the Writers Guild is doing, and I support that.”

Less than a week after the series resumed production, Barrymore posted a tearful video on Instagram apologizing to writers and unions while standing by her actions. She called the situation “complex” but insisted that she never intended to “upset or hurt anyone.”

“I didn’t want to hide behind people. So I won’t,” she said. “I won’t polish this with ... publicists and corporate rhetoric. I’ll just stand out there and accept and be responsible.”

Within three days, Barrymore deleted the video from her Instagram grid and replaced it with a written statement reversing her decision to resume production during the strike.

“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,” she said.

“We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.”

That resolution came Sept. 24, when the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reached a tentative deal to end the strike. A number of unscripted programs — such as “The Tonight Show” and “The Jennifer Hudson Show” — already have come back on the air.

Other talk shows are expected to return soon as well. On Wednesday, NBC announced that new episodes of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” also would begin airing Oct. 16.

Because the actors’ strike is still going on, “The Drew Barrymore Show” has tapped a celebrity hairstylist, an interior designer, a professional chef, a sustainable-living guru and other “cutting-edge guests and key influencers” to fill the void.