“The Talk” sets new return date after writers' strike

The Talk is returning — and this time, they mean it.

CBS announced the news across social media, confirming that the daytime talk show — hosted by Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Amanda Kloots, Jerry O'Connell, Sheryl Underwood, and Natalie Morales — will kick off its 14th season on Monday, Oct. 9.

The series, which originally went dark in May because of the writers' strike, previously announced a return in early September when the Writers Guild of America had yet to strike a new deal with the AMPTP. The network and hosts received backlash for the decision to resume without their WGA writers, including picketers protesting the CBS Studio Center during a rehearsal for the series' return. Following the criticism, a representative for CBS told EW that the talk show would pause its season premiere scheduled for Sept. 18 while the network "evaluate[d] plans for a new launch date."

The Talk wasn't the only daytime talk show set to resume production without its writers, nor was it alone in the decision to reverse course. The Jennifer Hudson Show and The Drew Barrymore Show were also set to film episodes without written material, but delayed their plans amid the backlash.

Sonja Flemming/CBS Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Amanda Kloots, Jerry O'Connell, Sheryl Underwood, and Natalie Morales

After 148 days, the Writers Guild of America reached a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, finally putting an end to the second-longest strike in the union's history. (The 1988 strike lasted 153 days.) Some of the notable provisions include streaming residuals, improved healthcare plans, tighter restrictions around AI usage, and increased minimum pay rates.

WGA members will vote to ratify the new contract this week. In the meantime, writers have returned to work, meaning late night and daytime TV shows – some of the first impacted by the strike — will resume in the following weeks. SAG-AFTRA members can freely appear on talk shows as long as they are not promoting film or television projects from struck companies.

The actors' strike began two months after the WGA strike in July and will continue until the union is offered a fair deal by the AMPTP. The two parties are set to meet on Monday to resume strike negotiations in hopes of reaching a deal soon.

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