Drew Barrymore’s co-head writers will not return to show: Report

October 05, 2023 11:13 AM

Drew Barrymore’s talk show is returning with the writer’s strike ending, but three of her top writers are not.

Co-head writers Chelsea White, Cristina Kinon, and Liz Koe have declined return offers to the program, which is slated to resume airing on Oct. 16, per the Hollywood Reporter. Production staff are in the process of hiring new writers who are in compliance with the Writer’s Guild of America.

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FILE – Drew Barrymore attends the Time100 Gala, celebrating the 100 most influential people in the world, at Frederick P. Rose Hall, April 26, 2023, in New York. The National Book Awards dropped Barrymore as the host for this year’s ceremony, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, a day after her talk show taped its first episode since the Hollywood writers strike began. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Some two weeks before the writer’s strike ended, Barrymore announced her show would commence its fourth season. The actress promised not to discuss or promote “film and television that is struck of any kind” and filmed some content. Barrymore’s announcement drew the ire of many online, including from White, Kinon, and Koe, as they reportedly found out about the show’s return by seeing a drawing for tickets on social media.

Barrymore subsequently announced a reversal in her decision to start filming her show’s next season and deleted her initial announcement from social media. Its third season ended before the Writers Guild of America strike started on May 2.

“I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore announced Sunday. “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.”

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Ten days later, WGA ended its strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, finally agreeing on higher wages. Before that, the most recent offer to WGA from the AMPTP had been on Aug. 11. The strike lasted 144 days and for its final roughly two months went on in tandem with the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Radio and Television Artists strike, which is continuing.

WGA has about 11,500 members. As a result of their new contract with the AMPTP, they will receive bonuses for video streaming, protections against artificial intelligence, and minimum staffing standards.