Some good news this morning:
Drew Barrymore announced Sunday that she will “pause” production of the new season of “The Drew Barrymore Show” until the writers strike is done.
“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 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.”
Barrymore announced last week that her talk show would start on its new season as the Writers Guild of America strike continues. On Friday, Barrymore posted a video on Instagram in which she compared continuing her show during the writers strike to when it ran during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I believe there’s nothing I can do or say in this moment to make it OK,” she said in the now-deleted video. “I wanted to own a decision so that it wasn’t a PR-protected situation and I … take full responsibility … I know there’s just nothing I can do that will make this OK for those it is not OK with.”
Barrymore had said, “I deeply apologize to writers” and “I deeply apologize to unions,” but said she was going to continue with the show.
While I understand that Barrymore wants her crew to get back to work, it was absolutely wrong for her to cross the picket line. She should’ve taken Rosie O’Donnell’s advice sooner:
O’Donnell, who once had her own talk show before her time on “The View,” posted a screenshot of an essay from Elizabeth Grey who gave her two cents on Barrymore resuming production of her show.
“Stop taping the show. Stop asking audiences to cross the picket line,” read part of the essay that O’Donnell shared to her Instagram on Saturday.
“Then ask someone to help you craft three declarative sentences. They should follow along these lines: I made an error. I apologize to the WGA for disrespecting the work of professional writers. I apologize to all union members who are withstanding real hardship as I live a life of luxury.”
O’Donnell captioned the post “advice 4 @drewbarrymore” alongside a heart emoji.
Now if only Bill Maher would do the same thing:
HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher will soon be returning to air, despite the ongoing writer's strike.
Maher posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the show will be coming back without any writers or writing. "The writers have important issues that I sympathize with, and hope they are addressed to their satisfaction, but they are not the only people with issues, problems, and concerns," he wrote.
"I love my writers, I am one of them, but I'm not prepared to lose an entire year and see so many below-the-line people suffer so much."
The Writer's Guild of America responded by calling his plan "disappointing" on X, saying the show will have a difficult time going forward "without a violation of WGA strike rules taking place." The guild plans on picketing the show.
If Barrymore and Maher care about their crews, they should be following these five talk show hosts lead:
Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Stephen Colbert are headed to Las Vegas, as this month's Dolby Live will be headlined by a power trio. Kimmel, Colbert, and Fallon will co-host Strike Force Three on September 23 at 8 p.m. Their first ever live show This is the three-fifth of the complete Strike Force Five podcast crew, which also includes John Oliver and Seth Meyers. As reported by the Hollywood Reporter. Meanwhile, the Strike Force Five Podcast was created after the late-night hosts' shows were abruptly stopped due to the ongoing writers' strike in Hollywood. To ensure the livelihood of their team and crew, the five famous hosts decided to raise funds and give them their monthly wages.
Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Stephen Colbert, the three members of the Strike Force Five, are on the road with their performances. Late-night stars will conduct a one-night-only event titled Strike Force Three on Saturday, September 23 at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas, the first time the three have appeared on stage together at the same time.
Colbert, Fallon, Kimmel, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers have established the podcast Strike Force Five to assist their individual programs' staff. Proceeds from the Strike Force Three event will benefit the hosts' now unemployed coworkers, as they did with Strike Force Five.
This money is provided by the multiple presenting sponsors. As per the Hollywood Reporter in the event's press release, Oliver joked that he wouldn't be able to attend because "I'm not allowed back in Vegas until I'm cleared of all charges," while Meyers stated, "I WILL be in Vegas but am unable to attend as I've got to play my slots."
Episode 5 is out. You can catch up bellow:
Meanwhile, the WGA and AMPTP are set to meet this week:
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said Thursday that it planned to schedule a meeting with the Writers Guild of America next week, the first genuine sign of movement in the labor standoff since last month.
The alliance, which represents major studios such as the Walt Disney Co., Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery, said that on Wednesday the WGA had “reached out to the AMPTP and asked for a meeting to move negotiations forward.”
“Every member company of the AMPTP is committed and eager to reach a fair deal, and to working together with the WGA to end the strike,” the studio group said in a statement.
WGA’s negotiating committee confirmed the development in a note to members on Thursday. It said guild leaders and the AMPTP “are in the process of scheduling a time to get back in the room.”
Stay tuned. In the mean time, please do donate to the Entertainment Fund to help those affected by strike to the studios caused. Click here.