cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/2450622
“I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over.”
Drew Barrymore is officially hitting “pause” on production of her daytime talk show.
After days of enduring backlash surrounding her decision to resume The Drew Barrymore Show amid the writers’ and actors’ strikes, the host announced that she will no longer move forward with new episodes until the strikes end.
“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 social media Sunday. “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 added, “We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.”
Barrymore announced plans last week for her Daytime Emmy–winning show to resume production without its three Writers Guild of America writers who, along with the rest of their union, have been on strike since May, demanding higher wages, clearer contract provisions, and more.
The star quickly became the center of controversy, earning criticism from striking members of the WGA and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), in addition to others of the industry. Following her decision, the National Book Foundation also rescinded its invitation for Barrymore to host its annual awards event.
Her show resumed filming last week as picketers protested the choice outside the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. Some audience members said they were escorted out of tapings for wearing WGA-branded pins. A spokesperson for the show told EW in a statement that Barrymore was “completely unaware of the incident” and that their team is “in the process of reaching out to the affected audience members to offer them new tickets.”
Barrymore initially defended her decision in a now-removed video she posted on Friday, explaining, “This is bigger than me and there other peoples’ jobs on the line.”
She continued, “I weighed the scales and I thought if we could go on during a global pandemic and everything that the world experienced through 2020, why would this sideline us? I just wanted to just put one foot in front of the other and make a show that’s there for people regardless of anything else that’s happening in the world.”
Barrymore, a member of SAG-AFTRA, insisted that the show’s return was “in compliance with not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind,” according to strike rules. When season 4 was first announced, a CBS spokesperson confirmed to EW that the series would “not be performing any writing work covered by the WGA strike.”
While Barrymore herself was not in violation as the series’ host — daytime talk shows fall under a separate contract, the Network Television Code contract — resuming production meant that it left its writers behind. As the WGA-East announced on social media, “The [Drew Barrymore Show] is a WGA-covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers… Any writing on The Drew Barrymore Show is in violation of WGA strike rules.”
Cristina Kinon, a writer for the show, told The Daily Beast that she was disappointed to see Barrymore resume production on the series without its writing team. “It is frustrating,” she said, “because it will prolong the strike, and we just want it to end.”
When news broke that the series was coming back for a fourth season, CBS issued a statement to EW. “While our show has been largely an unscripted talk show from the beginning, the new shows we are producing this season will be completely unscripted until the strike ends,” it read in part. “No one on our staff will fill a writing position. If you watch the show, it is obvious that Drew has always brought raw, unfiltered, spontaneous, open, and honest conversations to her viewers, and that will continue. The show also moves forward with important consideration to our staff and crew comprised of over 150 people, as well as our loyal viewers. We fully support Drew and her entire team 100 percent.”
The show was set to return with new episodes on Monday, Sept. 18.
Conan (and I think all of the talk show hosts?) were contractually required to put on their shows and had approval from the WGA. Conan chose to actively put on a bad show to highlight the strike, And, if memory serves, Letterman outright had union leaders do “bits” to further raise awareness as he ways a producer and had his company agree to the terms and could operate normally if he so chose.
In all honesty: Barrymore seems like an idiot and likely thought she had her “Conan moment” before it was explained that “no, this is not happening and we specifically negotiated contracts to not make hosts required to host during a strike because of the last time this happened”
And, in her defense, not all the hosts were supportive of the strike when they came back in '08.
Conan, and even Letterman, were not universally praised among the actual writers but it was kosher and they tend to catch the least heat because they used it as a platform for the WGA.
They were bad in that they were unscripted. If they hadn’t done them the crews wouldn’t have been paid either.
That said, on Conan there was one of those episodes where his staff are playing guitar hero and Conan walks in there with a real guitar and plays the same song on a real guitar at the same time. I have never seen one activity so thoroughly undermine another.
Conan is one of the all time great comedic writers. Even his “unscripted” is still “written” by one of the GOATs.
Everyone rightfully gives Leno shit for basically putting on a “normal” show. But Conan knew what he was doing and struck a balance between “tedious”, “intentionally bad”, and “still entertaining enough to get renewed when this all blows over”. His work highlighted the strike so I personally give him a pass, but a lot of other writers did not.
Maybe the show isn’t doing well and this is a way to bow out gracefully.