‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ Resumes Production Without WGA Writers, Strikers Picket Studio

Drew Barrymore announced that her talk show would resume production despite the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. The WGA picketed outside of the CBS Broadcast Center in protest.

In the days following the start of the strike, Barrymore was set to host the MTV Movie & TV Awards. When she announced her decision to not attend the award show, she became one of the first A-list celebrities to stand in solidarity with the writers. Many late-night shows such as Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon were quick to follow Barrymore’s lead, suspending production until further notice. 

While Barrymore was initially praised for her solidarity, in a lengthy Instagram post on September 10, she explained her decision to cross the picket line and start production on season four of her show. Barrymore stated that she had chosen to bow out of the host position at the MTV Movie & TV Awards in May because it was in direct conflict with the strike.

That first week, Barrymore felt it was only right to show her support for the writers. She noted in the post that at the beginning of the writer’s strike, her show had already wrapped up production and never technically shut down. As the strike has continued months longer than expected, Barrymore asserted that as a public figure, it is her job to continue the writer’s art form by bringing people together to “make sense of the human experience.” She added that she hopes everything resolves soon, but “this is bigger than me.”

The show will not be performing any writing work by WGA writers.

After Barrymore’s announcement, furious writers added the CBS Broadcast Center in New York to the list of picket locations. Taping began early morning on September 11, as did the protest. Writers chanted outside of her studio, “Hey Drew, hey Drew, we expected better from you.”

Other late-night shows have not yet made any decisions about returning to the studio amid the ongoing strike. The WGA said that its members will continue to protest any show that resumes production without the help of its writers.