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Well, this got awkward pretty fast…
Actress-turned-talk-show host Drew Barrymore has always been noted for her straightforward manner and setting the ground rules for her decades-long career in film and television, but the Writer’s Guild of America (or “WGA” if you’re acronym-inclined) have called ‘Foul!’ on her latest move of announcing the return of her daily talk-show The Drew Barrymore Show even as the WGA and SAG-AFTRA trudge forward with their contentious dual strikes which have all but shut down the entertainment industry for months. So what’s the dope about what’s shaping up to be a pretty nasty showdown between Barrymore and the assorted creative gremlins behind WGA?
According to our strike-busting muchachos over at The Hollywood Reporter, the WGA will be picketing the NYC studios of The Drew Barrymore Show this Monday and Tuesday. The reason? The WGA swears up and down that Barrymore’s daily chat-fest is a “struck show,” meaning that it’s ostensibly breaking the rules of the industry strike by returning for its fourth season even as most other series and talk-shows with a Hollywood entertainment news bent remain shut down. For her part, Barrymore explained in a lengthy online statement that she has every right to bring her show back for production and that she’s not violating any known strike rules by doing so.
Starting her statement off by making a point of saying that she observed the rules of the dual strikes by opting out of the hosting duties at this year’s MTV Film and TV Awards back in May, Barrymore went on to explain her thoughts about bringing her daily show back during these difficult times.
“I own this choice,” Barrymore said in her Instagram post. “We are in compliance with not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind. 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.”
This Hollywood version of a downhome hillbilly feud (think the Hatfields and McCoys) doesn’t look like it’s going to have a too-soon happy ending: The WGA is strongly digging in against the return of Barrymore’s show, saying that “It has stayed off the air since the strike began on May 2nd but has now (unfortunately) decided to return without its writers. The Guild has, and will continue to, picket any struck show that continues production for the duration of the strike.”
Here’s hoping that the WGA and the folks behind The Drew Barrymore Show can find some common ground and work this difference of opinion out. And hey, how about the studios and WGA and SAG-AFTRA all locating a fair and balanced mediator to get these gone-on too-long strikes settled to everyone’s mutual satisfaction?
