Drew Barrymore might be one of the most beloved figures in Hollywood, but this week, her reputation has taken a scabby turn.
As confirmed by its host on Tuesday, The Drew Barrymore Show is set to return to CBS Monday, Sept. 18, in spite of the fact that its unionized writers have been on strike since May 1. Some of those writers are now picketing outside the show’s production studio in New York. (A representative for Barrymore did not respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.)
This about-face feels especially surprising coming from Barrymore, who bowed out of hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards ceremony this spring in deference to the strike. “We were really proud of that decision,” Drew Barrymore Show co-head writer Cristina Kinon told the Daily Beast. In light of that former solidarity, Kinon added, the show’s impending Season 4 return came as a surprise.
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“I personally understand that everybody has to make the best decision for themselves,” Kinon said. “I know that this show has a crew of hundreds of people who need to be paid, and I understand the perspective of wanting to protect your cast, your crew, and your staff.”
At the same time, Kinon said, she and her fellow writers are standing in solidarity with the WGA’s tens of thousands of members. “And then, expanding out more, we’re standing with all of labor and all of the unions across the world, because that is how it works,” she added. “Unions only work when you stick together with unions across the labor spectrum.”
It’s understandable that Barrymore would want to protect her crew, but as WGA East council member Sasha Stewart points out, she also had other options. For instance: Why not start a podcast in the vein of Strike Force Five, a recent collaboration between late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, and Jimmy Fallon? Or, given that all of these shows have hiatuses built into their schedules, perhaps Barrymore could have deployed hers early to at least delay the premiere. Or maybe she could compensate her staff from her own pocket during the strike.
Regardless of the specific measure Barrymore could or should have taken, Stewart said, “There were other options to support or staff without having to throw part of it (i.e. her writers) under the bus.”
Any time a show goes back into production, Kinon argued, it’ll ultimately help extend the strike. Until now, the only daytime show that remained in production was The View—which the WGA has also picketed. “Now, there's word that maybe some other shows are coming back,” Kinon added. “So it is frustrating, because it will prolong the strike, and we just want it to end.”
When Barrymore confirmed her show’s impending return on Instagram, she noted that the show remains “in compliance” with the actors union’s ban against promoting struck work. (SAG-AFTRA has confirmed she is not violating its strike rules.) Still, Barrymore’s statement neglected to acknowledge her own show’s three unionized writers, whose absence will likely create work for other non-WGA members to fill. (In other words: For this show to continue, someone will probably have to cross the picket line and write.)
For former co-head writer Jordan Carlos, who worked on the show from the beginning of its first season, the omission of the show’s writers was particularly disappointing.
As Barrymore noted in her post, The Drew Barrymore Show launched mid-pandemic. Carlos recalled that during the early months of the show, its writers risked their lives and their health by turning up to work in person, as requested—even before vaccines had been developed. Now, it seems, the show has declined to reciprocate its writers’ sacrifices. As Carlos put it, “I don't think this is an adequate repayment of their time and services.”
The stakes at hand go beyond one TV series, one host, or one set of writers. As a daytime TV series, The Drew Barrymore Show falls under a negotiating category called “Appendix A.” These programs include daytime shows, as well as late-night and variety programs, among others. As Kinon pointed out, Hollywood’s major studios—represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP)—have proposed compensating the writers for shows like Barrymore with day rates, like Uber drivers and other gig workers.
“I don’t see how what I do is different from writing for a scripted show, or writing feature films—which I also do,” Kinon said. “We're all trying to make a career out of writing, and the AMPTP is trying to slowly chip away at that. And they wouldn't have anything without writers; writers are the seed of all of creation.”
As Stewart pointed out, “These shows can’t go on without some sort of writing, so the question now is just, who’s doing it?”
Stewart noted that the WGA is working to secure protections for all Appendix A shows, particularly in the event that they move from broadcast to streaming. “When we said we want Appendix A to be covered in streaming,” she said, “we want all of Appendix A covered in streaming. We don't want anybody to get left behind.”
“It’s incredibly disappointing to see Drew Barrymore—a person people love working with and who, by bowing out of MTV Movie Awards, was one of the first celebrities to take tangible action supporting the strike—make this short-sighted decision,” Last Week Tonight with John Oliver writer Liz Hynes wrote in an email to The Daily Beast. “Every day she tapes is a day she and her guests are choosing to cross her own writers on the picket line. Every show they make is still being narratively prepared in some way, which constitutes struck work and utterly disrespects the value her writers create.”
Hynes added, pointedly, “By restarting her show during this strike, Drew is playing directly into the AMPTP’s hand.”
The backlash against Barrymore has been swift and widespread—especially as her show seems to stumble from one unforced error to the next. First, the show’s security team gave a couple audience members the boot on Monday for wearing WGA pins to a taping. A representative for The Drew Barrymore Show assured The Hollywood Reporter that Barrymore herself was “completely unaware” of the incident, expressed “regret,” and said that the show was reaching out to offer the two would-be attendees a fresh pair of tickets. Then, on Tuesday, WGA East council member Greg Iwinski tweeted that audience members leaving the taping informed picketing writers outside that they’d had their bags searched and WGA pins confiscated.
When reached for comment by The Daily Beast, a representative for The Drew Barrymore said, “The pins set off the metal detectors at CBS Broadcast Center security. Audience members were asked to remove them and then offered them back after they cleared the metal detectors.”
Tuesday also brought the news that the National Book Foundation had rescinded its invitation to Barrymore to host its National Book Awards. As the nonprofit wrote in a statement, “Our commitment is to ensure that the focus of the Awards remains on celebrating writers and books, and we are grateful to Ms. Barrymore and her team for their understanding in this situation.”
No one who spoke with The Daily Beast seemed to have a personal issue with Barrymore. As Carlos put it, “She is a charming personality and puts on a great show.” At the same time, he added, “If I like you and I think the best of you, then I want to keep it real with you… and pay you the compliment of being blunt about it.”
Still, Barrymore’s path forward will likely need to begin with an apology. “We all make mistakes,” Stewart said. “Maybe she just got some really bad advice, or some really intense heat from the studios. We've all been there… It’s never too late to do the right thing.”
Kinon concurred that she “would love to see the show stand in solidarity with us, and it’s not too late.” As for the other shows that have announced their impending returns—including CBS’s The Talk, Warner Bros.’ The Jennifer Hudson Show, and Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury’s Sherri—she expressed her hope that they reconsider “where they stand and stand in solidarity with the WGA.”
Correction: This article previously stated in error that The Kelly Clarkson Show had announced its return to air. It has not.
