Drew Barrymore Scraps Talk Show’s Return Amid Backlash

Claire Franken
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Drew Barrymore has caved. Amid a deafening backlash, the actress-turned-talk show host announced Sunday that The Drew Barrymore Show will not return until after the WGA strike ends.

“I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore wrote in a statement posted to 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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CBS Media Ventures will not air previously produced Season 4 episodes in addition to pausing production, according to Vulture’s Joe Adalian.

The decision to delay the show’s Sept. 18 return comes after Barrymore ignited controversy for issuing a defense, and a subsequent apology, for resuming the show despite ongoing strikes.

“I own this choice,” Barrymore wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post days after CBS Media Ventures announced the show’s Season 4 premiere date. “We are in compliance with not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind… I want to be there to provide what writers do so well, which is a way to bring us together or help us make sense of the human experience.”

The WGA later responded to Barrymore’s statement with a brief post on X (fka Twitter), reiterating that any writing done on The Drew Barrymore Show‘s new season “is in violation of WGA strike rules.”

“The @DrewBarrymoreTV Show is a WGA covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers,” the WGA stated on Sunday. “The Guild has, and will continue to, picket struck shows that are in production during the strike.”

After receiving heat for going against strike rules, Barrymore posted a tearful video to Instagram to offer further explanation.

“I believe there’s nothing I can do or say in this moment to make it OK,” Barrymore said in the video that has since been deleted. “I wanted to own a decision, so that it wasn’t a PR-protected situation, and I would just take full responsibility for my actions.”

In light of the controversy, The National Book Awards dropped Barrymore as the host of this year’s ceremony, saying that the night celebrates “the power of literature, and the incomparable contributions of writers to our culture.”

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