Drew Barrymore’s show to return next week, drawing criticism from striking writers
The Drew Barrymore Show will return without writers amid the strike, despite being covered by the WGA contract
Aux News Drew Barrymore
The Drew Barrymore Show will return on Monday, September 18, a decision that has proven controversial amid Hollywood’s ongoing writers strike. While many daytime talk shows (like The View) have continued production because they never employed Writers Guild of America members, Barrymore’s eponymous show was covered under the WGA contract. So how does the beloved actor square returning to production?
In a statement on social media, Barrymore writes that she was “making the choice to come back for the first time in this strike for our show, that may have my name on it but this is bigger than just me.” She shares she walked away from the MTV Film & Television Awards because it was a “direct conflict” with the strike, and points out that the previous season of her show wrapped before the strike was called, so she didn’t have to make a decision on how to move forward until now.
“I own this choice. We are in compliance with not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind,” Barrymore claims. “We launched live in a global pandemic. Our show was built for sensitive times and has only functioned through what the real world is going through in real time. 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. I hope for a resolve for everyone as soon as possible. We have navigated difficult times since we first came on air. And so I take a step forward to start season 4 once again with an astute humility.”
In its own statement (via Deadline), network CBS asserts that “The Drew Barrymore Show will not be performing any writing work covered by the WGA strike.” But the WGA, understandably, disagrees. “The Drew Barrymore Show is a WGA covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers. The Guild has, and will continue to, picket struck shows that are in production during the strike,” the WGA East posted on Twitter/X. “Any writing on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ is in violation of WGA strike rules.”
Comedian Adam Conover, a member of the WGA negotiating committee, posted on his own social media, “This is incredibly disappointing. @DrewBarrymore’s show employs WGA writers who are currently on strike. She is choosing to go back on the air without them, and forcing her guests to cross a picket line. Drew: This harms your writers and all union workers. Please reconsider.” He added, “The worst part is that Drew and her production company claim that they’re following WGA strike rules. They are not; they are violating them, by producing a WGA-covered, written show during a strike without WGA writers.”
Writer David Slack (Person Of Interest), a former WGA West Board member and alum of the negotiating committee, provided a breakdown of the situation: “Drew Barrymore’s talk show is covered under SAG-AFTRA’s Netcode contract—which is not on strike. As long as she doesn’t promote any of her old movies on the show, she’s not violating SAG-AFTRA’s TV/Theatrical/Streaming strike,” he explained.
However, given that The Drew Barrymore Show is covered under the WGA contract, “By going back on the air without her writers, Drew Barrymore is 100% ensuring that *someone*—either herself, one of her non-writing producers, or all of the above—will be doing the writing work that WGA writers normally do,” which includes delivering a monologue, coming up with questions to ask guests, and more. Even if Barrymore improvises her way through those segments moving forward, doing so is technically replacing the work of a striking writer, also known as scabbing. “It is not too late for @DrewBarrymore to stop this and do the right thing,” Slack wrote. If her concern is paying the crew, it seems like someone who was born rich and has starred in hit movies since childhood might be able to find a better solution than working with scab writers.”
“Drew Barrymore has always been someone who recognized her privilege and aimed to evolve, so I hope she will reconsider this hasty decision intended to pay her crew because it weakens both unions to openly endorse scabbing. She could personally fund their salaries for eternity,” posted writer Gennefer Gross. Writer Claire Willett commented, “since the strike prohibits studios sending them out to actually promote work, i plan to heavily side-eye every single famous actor friend of Drew Barrymore who comes to sit on her couch and chat about skincare or their childhoods while their fellow union members are out picketing.”
We’ll see what the writer-less Drew Barrymore Show ends up looking like. Per Deadline, the series plans to introduce a new segment called “Take Care Everywhere” which tackles the tough questions many are too embarrassed to ask their own doctors with featuring Menopause Bootcamp founder Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz; celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton will also join the show alongside regulars Ross Mathews, interior designer Mikel Welch, chef Pilar Valdes and sustainable living guru Danny Seo. Meanwhile, the WGA will be outside the studio making their objections heard on the picket line.
62 Comments
I fully acknowledge that I don’t know the mechanics of unions and striking as I’ve never had a union job, but I don’t see how this isn’t scabbing, and I don’t see how she even attempted to explain how this isn’t scabbing. “We were made for sensitive times”? Okay…but you’re making a show that previously employed writers…without writers? Someone has to be doing what the writers did, right? And “I want to be there to provide what writers do so well,” but how without writers? If you’re providing the thing that the striking writers previously provided, that seems to be the definition of scabbing?So…again I’m sure there’s something I’m missing but I can see why the WGA thinks this is shitty.
Talk show hosts are covered under a different SAG-AFTRA contract so no talk show host is technically allowed to strike right now (similar to how actors couldn’t strike with the WGA if they had movies and such in production prior to the SAG strike). Talk show hosts, game show hosts, and soap opera actors are contractually obligated to show up to work right now no matter how they feel about either strike if the companies that own their shows tell them to. This happened with the Late Night talk shows in 2007 where essentially they just spoke off the cuff. Additionally, she’s not in the WGA. While it would likely be scabbing to actually put pen to paper and receive wages for writing, if they sit her in front of a camera and she just rambles (like what happened with the Late Night hosts before), she is not technically writing anything. Presumably, she also will not be paid as a writer. So even if she jotted down a monologue, she is only being paid to be on camera.
She literally says in her statement “I own this choice.” It doesn’t sound like the network is making her come back or she would probably say that.
Yes, which she states is “bigger than her.” There is speculation that the network told her if she did not return she would be held in contempt of contract, her employees would be laid off, and the show would be cancelled.Owning the decision to come back and that meaning she is not being compelled to (as happened to the Late Night writers in 2007) aren’t the same.
It undermines the strike, as she has a writer’s room that doesn’t get paid well, while she makes big $$. More, she’s perpetuating filmed entertainment on a station owned by a big AMPTP member, thus alleviating a small amount of pressure on AMPTP members who should be the bad guys to the public for holding up all of their favorite shows. It’s the opposite of solidarity. She will come to regret this move.
That does not change the fact that networks can compel talk show hosts to return to work without WGA writers and that those who are under the Netcode Contract for SAG-AFTRA. Under SAG-AFTRA rules, those governed by the Netcode Contract are not allowed to strike. They are required to show up for work. If there wasn’t a SAG-AFTRA strike right now, actors would be required to show up to film.She’s also not the only talk show in production or the only game show. It’s funny how no one says that about Conan O’Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and all the others who went back during the 2007 strike.
“Additionally, she’s not in the WGA.”
Her writers are. That’s the point.
Talk show hosts are but it says that her show is included under the strike, so it seems shitty to reformat her struck show to be a non-struck show when it was previously of a format that fell under the strike. So I appreciate the explanation and I get what you’re saying, but this seems an example of using the letter of the law to spite the spirit of the law.
Her writers are covered under the WGA strike. The reformat is just to eliminate the need for writers, theoretically.If a show goes forward without writers, it is not considered to be violating the strike. If they hire alternate writers, it would. This is what happened with the Late Night hosts in 2007 – They were told by their networks that they needed to perform without their writers or they would be in breach of their contracts. It is definitely a grey area, but it’s unfortunately a grey area that many talk show hosts will likely be in during the upcoming months. She won’t be the only one.
No, I get it. I just still see why the WGA thinks it’s shitty.
Agreed, but I also think it’s interesting how selectively people are choosing to care. Ken Jennings and Drew Barrymore get outsized criticism while others quietly go about their jobs, many doing the same thing.
I don’t know who else is doing this, but I remember the late night talk shows doing it the last time. I feel like the difference is that they aren’t really actors and hosting is their whole job so it feels like it makes sense for them, idk. Meanwhile Barrymore is seen as “one of us,” so she should be out there picketing as well. I never understood why they bothered with Ken Jennings. He was never a writer or an actor so he can do what he wants? It was funny that they threatened him with “if you do this you’ll have trouble finding work in the future” like…okay? He wasn’t looking for acting or movie-writing jobs. lol
I think there’s a lot more instant social media than the last time to be honest so people get to react in real time with their emotions and not look at the reality of why things are happening and assume that because there’s a strike everyone is allowed to support it. Additionally, I think the double strike makes people think that every person on camera is a member of the same union with the same contract. People assume that Alex Trebek wouldn’t be working with the Ken Jennings example when he surely did during the previous WGA strike.My mom worked for a hospital that had multiple unions and her union surely insisted she show up when her union wasn’t on strike even if others were. SAG actors would be expected to show up to work on set if they weren’t on strike.
True, but the backlash isn’t mainly from ignorant bystanders (my own ignorant comment notwithstanding). It seems actual WGA members are mad about this, and they know the rules. They just think it’s wrong anyway even if it’s technically legal. It’s the “technically” that’s making people bristle.
Many WGA members have also stated that she’s Netcode and has to do it. I don’t know that being a WGA member means you necessarily know what another union requires of talent under their own contract. Unless the WGA wants to pay for Netcode contract SAG-AFTRA members to combat litigation, they need to recognize she is under contract.At this point Variety is reporting that Barrymore is not alone – The Talk is resuming for 9/18 as is Sherri and Jennifer Hudson – so effectively every daytime talk show is back. Kelly Clarkson is the only one without a return date, but she’s believed to have “banked” episodes ready to go.
“(like what happened with the Late Night hosts before)“
Now here’s the heart of the matter. Yes, in 2007, the late night hosts kept their shows going. Now, all of those WGA covered talk shows, every single one of them, except Drew Barrymore’s, are not. They’re all showing re-runs, but not her.
I think it’s incumbent on her and her defenders to explore why that might be, and have the humility to reconsider their position based on this fact. Especially considering that Drew Barrymore isn’t attached to any studio. All the late night hosts are part of specific networks, but her show is self-produced and syndicated to local stations. Whatever contractual compunctions you think might be attached to talk show hosting on television (which I don’t think actually exist in the way you describe), Barrymore should have LESS of them than Colbert and the Jimmies, not more. Notably, The Talk, which is in a similar situation to Barrymore (syndicated daytime talkshow under WGA contract distributed by CBS to local stations), is dark and showing re-runs as well.
Now, is there more competition in the daytime talk space, including with shows that weren’t WGA covered to begin with, and perhaps a sexist tint to this discussion because late night’s for the boys and daytime is for ditzy girls? Sure. But I think that, even with those colorations to the discussion, Barrymore is in the wrong here, especially considering other shows in her exact milieu and even distribution company are dark. But I also think she’s the kind of person that might mea culpa this in a week or so. At least by her public persona (which could be bullshit, but, benefit of the doubt for now).
No, she’s not in the WGA. She’s a producer creating work in spite of her own employees not being able to work on the show due to the strike. Scabbing is the use of non-union labor to continue production while evading union contract negotiating, and the scabs would be the non-union labor that agrees to cross those lines. A union worker doing so would quickly find themselves to be non-union and then still be called a scab at that point. So as a non-WGA worker producing work formerly created by WGA workers during a WGA strike, she seems to be setting herself up to be the poster child for scabbing. I’m not quite sure what contractual technicalities you think would force her to do so but not literally every single other talk show host in the US.
But you also have to look at why those Late Night shows are not pushing forward. It’s not altruism – They don’t have celebrity guests. If this was only a WGA strike, I am sure they would be back. Barrymore is saying that she’s basically going to become Dr. Oz with a bunch of non-celebrity segments. And not for nothing, just because Late Night hasn’t gone back yet doesn’t mean it won’t. Last time, the studios insisted. They can do that again.There are reports that Drew was told if she didn’t go back, her staff would be laid off – because self-produced and syndicated doesn’t change that it is distributed by CBS and CBS has a contract that can compel her to generate content.Most talk show hosts are already back because their writing teams are not protected by the WGA – Kelly & Mark, Tamron Hall, and the View. Kelly Clarkson banks shows as opposed to filming weekly so she is airing new material from before the strike and could face a similar situation when that’s over. The View is deemed “unscripted” and allowed to continue on. The contractual technicality that makes Drew different is that all of her writers were WGA and she is not allowed to be on strike under her own contract. The only show that also has WGA writers is The Talk. And to give you another example – Soap Opera Actors are currently required to work on shows with scab writers or face lawsuits because the actors are on the Netcode contract and the writers were WGA and have all been replaced. I’m not seeing outrage over that because those actors don’t have a choice.
Variety is reporting that The Talk is expected to resume production on 9/18.Sherri and Jennifer Hudson have also now announced 9/18 returns – both had mixed writers rooms and will continue without the WGA members.
She could do it without anything being written, but if I understood the article correctly, even improvisation is considered “writing”
Only in terms of opinion. Under the actual union rules – as demonstrated in 2007 – a talk show host improvising does not violate the strike itself. That was how the networks got all the Late Night hosts back in 2007 minus Letterman who struck and interim deal and used his writers.
And I believe the WGA was very upset over that interpretation
And that’s totally fair, but that doesn’t mean other unions and networks can’t use that to enforce contracts, shitty thought it may be.
That’s my understanding as well.
It is. There was an article a few months back (before SAG went on strike) that Ryan Reynolds could continue to perform in Deadpool 3, but he couldn’t ad-lib any lines.
I -clearly- remember The Daily Show and The Colbert Report showing new episodes during the last writers strike. It was lampshaded every episode…So would someone at the WGA explain what rules changed?
yeah ditto conan. one of the best bits was him killing time by spinning his wedding ring. also everyone’s cool beard. perhaps they were already mid-season so the writers struck but production stayed working? i don’t remember the timeline of the previous one.
The WGA reacted angrily to the announcement, saying: “Comedy Central
forcing Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert back on the air will not give
the viewers the quality shows they’ve come to expect.”
That’s from a BBC article in 2007, so it doesn’t seem like any rules changed – they were mad then, and they’re mad now, justifiably so both times.
There was a loophole back then that’s since been tightened up.
I’ve seen a lot of people ask this and can’t find a satisfying answer. People say they were forced back, but isn’t the whole point to withstand the force?
Actually during the writers strike it was “A daily show” not “The Daily Show” because Stewart wanted to be clear it was not the show you loved because the writers were not there
That Daily Show
Die Daily Show, Die.It’s German.
She should just sit at her desk or her couch for an hour doing nothing. Then go back to repeats until the strike is resolved.
As predicted, they’re caving one by one. 😂
A washed-up celebrity scabbed? Checkmate, libwokes
Die bitch
Who would’ve thought the plucky couple from “Fever Pitch” would turn out to be hosts of TV talk shows and outed as assholes within the very same week?
Colin Firth and Ruth Gemmell?
No. Neil Pearson and Lorraine Ashbourne.
I can’t lie, on reading this comment I did momentarily think “Jesus, what’s Neil Pearson done?”
I clearly remember in previous work stoppages, talk show hosts (who are obscenely compensated for the ad dollars they bring in) hosts paying the writers out of pocket to continue the show.Is that not allowed at all this time due to the extra acrimony?
I don’t recall the circumstances last time, but WGA is not granting any waivers/interim agreements with any shows/projects/producers this time around, unlike SAG-AFTRA.
There was no waiver for the writers of any late night show except Letterman in 2007. The other talk show hosts were required to resume production by their networks (since they were not covered by the strike) and worked without writers, like Drew Barrymore. I suspect the same thing would be happening now except for the lack of actors to promote work.
They didn’t pay their writers. They returned without writers. The exception was David Letterman whose production company created an interim agreement with the WGA agreeing to all terms (like what happened with several of the indie studios recently) and was therefore allowed to use his writers. I believe the hosts still covered their wages, but that was a sign of respect. It did not allow them to write.
“I clearly remember”
Well, that didn’t happen. Sorry for your poor memory.
Pretty much all of the late night hosts were required to go back on the air in 2007. The only reason that isn’t being pushed now is because there are no actors to be guests on the shows either.
All technicalities aside, this feels like a bad decision. Support the strike, support the strikers. If screens go dark until people are paid fairly for their labour and skills, so be it.
Couldn’t this kind of thing benefit on strike writers (and possibly actors). Drew’s background is acting in movies so she doesn’t necessarily have the same improv background that say Colbert has. So when her completely made up on the fly show sucks that could show a lot of people how valuable writers are. And if instead of getting actors as guests she gets a bunch of human interest news story people, athletes and authors it might become a lot less an interesting show at least to its standard audience.
If that space-alien gibberish statement is indicative of Barrymore’s improv abilities, I for one would love to see what she comes up with without writers.
To be fair, she spent her formative years with ET
“Even if Barrymore improvises her way through those segments moving forward, doing so is technically replacing the work of a striking writer, also known as scabbing.”This is the one question I had – “Is it ‘writing’ to do a fully improvised show, where she talks about things off the cuff without a prompter and interviews guests without written questions. I can see an argument for that either way.
““Is it ‘writing’ to do a fully improvised show, where she talks about things off the cuff without a prompter and interviews guests without written questions.”
It’s a moot point because that won’t happen.
Think of it this way.When you had a substitute teacher show you a movie instead of teaching anything… they weren’t really teaching. But they were replacing your teacher, no?
Gosh, such “astute humility.” Shitty decision from a shitty person. But she’s so REAL, right?
I don’t know anything about unions, strikes or contractual obligations. Anyone want to gush over how radiant is Drew Barrymore? ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Gaffers and key grips gotta eat too.
Was:‘”The Drew Barrymore Show will return without writers amid the strike, despite being covered by the WGA contract”’Should read:The Drew Barrymore Show will return without using any unioned writers amid the strike, despite being covered by the WGA contract.Was:‘”The Guild has, and will continue to, picket struck shows that are in production during the strike,” the WGA East posted on Twitter/X. “Any writing on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ is in violation of WGA strike rules.” “’Should read:‘” The Guild has, and will continue to, picket struck shows that are in production during the strike,” the WGA East posted on Twitter/X. “Any writing on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ using unioned writers is in violation of WGA strike rules.” “’She could always go nonunioned which in turn would help up and coming writers meet their 3 years of prior experience writing before they can even be considered for joining the Writer’s Guild. There’s still a pool of nonunioned writers she could pool from.
Even though Barrymore has been building tons of good will crying in the rain and whatnot, with this concession, Drew Carey has officially won the long-standing war of Best Famous Drew.
“Menopause Bootcamp”?
No reason why she couldn’t start a podcast like everyone else. She could make plenty of money from sponsors to pay her staff.
“Comedian Adam Conover, a member of the WGA negotiating committee, posted on his own social media, “This is incredibly disappointing.”Adam ruins scabbing.