The reception has been anything but glowing.
Hollywood writers have been on strike for over 100 days, and SAG-AFTRA has been striking for almost two months. These labor disputes have already impacted entertainment, with award shows like the Emmys being postponed and late-night shows going dark. In a decision that’s been met with criticism, Drew Barrymore has decided to restart her daytime talk show amidst the strikes.
Are talk shows affected by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes?
While many of the shows and movies we count on for escapism are no longer being produced, not all TV programs are subject to the strike rules. For instance, daytime soap actors are currently able to work, because, although they’re a part of SAG-AFTRA, they work under a different contract that runs through July 2024, called Netcode. (However, they’re not able to use WGA writers.) Some daytime talk shows that are not subject to the WGA agreement, like The View and Live! With Kelly and Mark, are also not on strike. What’s interesting about The Drew Barrymore Show is that it’s not under the SAG-AFTRA contract that’s on strike, but it does employ WGA writers. That means, according to WGA, restarting the show is a no-go as far as the strike is concerned — but not for lack of creative finagling on Barrymore’s part.
What’s happening with The Drew Barrymore Show?
In an Instagram post on Sunday, Barrymore announced that she’d decided to bring back her show, even with the ongoing strike. “I own this choice,” she wrote in the caption of the post. “We are in compliance with not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind.” But the Writers Guild of America disagrees this is compliant — WGA East wrote in a tweet that The Drew Barrymore Show is “a WGA covered, struck show” and writing for it violates WGA rules. The guild also said that it would picket, and indeed, on Monday there were picketers outside CBS Studios in Manhattan, where the show films:
Why is Drew Barrymore being accused of being a scab?
A scab is someone who crosses a picket line and breaks a strike, so by bringing back her show, Barrymore is forcing someone to scab when they inevitably need to write for the show (even if it’s Barrymore herself). What’s interesting about Barrymore’s decision is that in May, the actress announced that she would step down from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards in solidarity with the strike — but now is going back on her support.
In her Instagram post, Barrymore addressed that decision, writing, “I made a choice to walk away from the MTV, film and television awards because I was the host and it had a direct conflict with what the strike was dealing with which was studios, streamers, film, and television. It was also in the first week of the strike and so I did what I thought was the appropriate thing at the time to stand in solidarity with the writers.” It’s not clear why, more than 100 days in, she no longer feels it’s “appropriate” to support the strike, but she did write that the show “may have my name on it but this is bigger than just me,” which could refer to the fact that other members of production who are not in WGA or SAG-AFTRA are being impacted by the loss of work.
Barrymore’s decision to bring back her talk show amidst the strike has been met with backlash, with some — like The West Wing actor Josh Malina — calling her a scab. Instagram users also flooded her post with comments accusing her of scabbing. One of The Drew Barrymore Show‘s writers, Liz Koe, told The Hollywood Reporter, “I think that Drew cares about the show. She cares about the crew, she cares about us. She cares about everything and I think she made the best decision that she could, given all those things.” Writer Cristina Kinon said, “I’m disappointed, but I understand that everybody has to do what they feel is best for them. For me and the WGA writers on the show, it’s important for us to stick with our union.” We deserve a fair contract, so we are here today outside.”
Audience members were reportedly kicked out for supporting the strike
The drama didn’t stop there. As taping resumed on Monday, two audience members told The Hollywood Reporter that they were asked to leave the taping because they were supporting WGA. Dominic Turiczek and Cassidy Carter tell THR that they’d signed up for free tickets to the taping, not realizing the implications of the strike. They say they were handed buttons from picketers that said “Writers Guild on Strike” and put them on, but were asked to leave the studio when a crewmember spotted the pins.
“Due to heightened security concerns today, we regret that two audience members were not permitted to attend or were not allowed access,” a spokesperson for The Drew Barrymore Show wrote in a statement to THR. “Drew was completely unaware of the incident and we are in the process of reaching out to the affected audience members to offer them new tickets.” Turiczek and Carter later joined the picket lines, so it’s unclear whether they will take the show up on the offer. “It really has changed my perspective on her and the show in general,” Carter told THR. “I’ve been completely alarmed and disheartened by this whole process.”
Chelsea White, one of the writers for The Drew Barrymore Show, expressed her disappointment with the show’s return. “It is a bummer to hear that the show is going back because it sends a message that union writers are not valuable,” she told THR. “And it goes directly against what the WGA, SAG-AFTRA, all the unions are trying to band together to stand up against the greedy studios.”
CBS execs, at least, are happy to see the talk show come back. “I am so excited to see what Drew has in store for season four,” Wendy McMahon, President and CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures, said in a press release that contains no mention of the strikes. ““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.”
According to the release, the fourth season of The Drew Barrymore Show will begin on September 18.
