NEW YORK — Fresh episodes of “The Drew Barrymore Show” will start airing on Monday, but the normally vivacious host will be surrounded by a lot of off-air drama.
Picketers are outside Barrymore’s studio, but she is still producing fresh episodes of her syndicated chat show. Daytime TV has become the latest front in the ongoing Hollywood labour war.
Not the only daytime program to resume production is “The Drew Barrymore Show,” which does so without its three union writers. The 27th season of “The View” has begun on ABC, and new episodes of “Tamron Hall” and “Live With Kelly and Ryan” have also been released. Neither of these programs is subject to writers guild regulations. On Monday, “The Talk” and “The Jennifer Hudson Show” will also return.
The hosts and guests aren’t technically breaching the strike as long as they don’t discuss or advertise content covered by television, theatrical, or streaming contracts. This is true because discussion shows are covered by a different contract than the one that writers and actors are striking, known as the “Network Code.” Along with reality TV, sports, morning news programs, soap operas, and game shows are all covered under the Network Code, game shows and operas.
“I know there is nothing I can do to change this for people who find it offensive. I completely accept it,” Barrymore stated in a video that was released on Instagram on Friday and later taken down. “I simply want everyone to know that my goals have never been to cause any uproar or harm. That isn’t who I am.
Zayd Ayers Dohrn, a writer, educator, and the director of Northwestern University’s MFA in Writing for Screen and Stage, predicted that the reintroduction of daytime presenters, producers, and studio crews will result in some awkward interactions.
It’s kind of incredible that they’re going back to work while their own writers are picketing outside the studio doors, said Dohrn, a member of the writers guild. Literally, they are ‘passing through the picket line of the workers they claim to represent’.
Social media users criticised Barrymore’s choice to go back on the air. One Instagram user said, “You have the heart and mind to be more tuned into the needs of the community than this.” Another person’s statement was more direct: “You don’t get to play a generous and relatable character when it’s financially advantageous for you and then scab when your pocketbook is at risk.”
Barrymore’s longtime friend and campaigner Alyssa Milano also disapproved of the reunion, calling it “not a great move.”
“I grew up with her and I love her very much, but I’m not convinced this was the best striking strategy. As far as the WGA and SAG and the union forces are concerned, it’s not a fantastic move, but I’m sure in her eyes it’s the best move for her and the programme.
Since Barrymore left her position as host of the MTV Movie & TV Awards in May—the first significant awards ceremony to run during the strike—many people were perplexed by her stance.
“I have listened to the writers,” she stated at the time, “and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike.”
Since then, she has been unable to host another event, the November National Book Awards. Her invitation was withdrawn by the organisation “in light of the announcement that ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ will resume production.”
LeRoy, who has spent 30 years researching labor-employer conflicts, issued a warning: while TV series like Barrymore’s may believe they can avoid hiring union writers, they may discover hidden costs in the long run.
No Writers Guild members will ever again collaborate on that programme, he declared. For Drew Barrymore and possibly the others, it’s a moment of happiness or survival in the short term, but in the long run, they’ve essentially given themselves an early retirement, in my opinion.
He cited analogous strikes in the past, such as when Major League Baseball umpires went on strike in 1999, that left sour memories for decades. Although senior and new umpires were combined, tensions persisted.
LeRoy remarked, “If those umpires were assigned to work games together for the next 25 years, they would not speak to each other.” “25 years of being shunned. People remember that.
Today’s daytime talk show environment has changed for viewers who tune in to new programmes. Not all guests are A-list celebrities promoting hit films or television series. Since the strike started, writers, musicians, and comedians are stepping in to fill the voids.
Cedric the Entertainer was talking to Hall about his debut novel while Neil deGrasse Tyson was discussing the science behind the Hulk on “Live With Kelly and Ryan” this week. “The View” hosted Matthew McConaughey to promote his book “Just Because.”
Hosts like Drew Barrymore might be forced to work again by contract but will undoubtedly Bill Maher, who also revealed he would resume hosting his late-night talk show, couched his justification as a desire to assist all of his crew, claiming that writers “are not the only people with issues, problems, and concerns.”
Dohrn doesn’t buy it: “They claim to want to help those who are barely making ends meet. But Bill Maher, Drew Barrymore, and the ‘The View’ hosts are not just scraping by. They might simply stand alongside other industry workers and declare, “We’re not going to feed the studio pipeline until they make a fair offer,” the speaker continued. enrage their coworkers in the process. It was stated last week that “this is bigger than just me.”
