‘The Talk’ Pauses Season Premiere Amid Writer’s Strike

Another daytime show has decided that it is not the right time to move forward with production. On Sunday, it was announced that The Talk has paused the premiere of the upcoming season, amid the Writer’s Guild of America strike.

The news was confirmed by CBS in a statement to ET.

“The Talk is pausing its season premiere scheduled for September 18. We will continue to evaluate plans for a new launch date,” the statement read. 

The daytime show, hosted by Amanda Kloots, Akbar Gbajabiamila, Sheryl Underwood, Natalie Morales and Jerry O’Connell was set to return for season 14 on Sept. 18. In support of the strike, the show went dark in May.

As of Sunday, the show was set to move forward with production of the new season. Last Wednesday, dozens of Writers Guild members protested a rehearsal show.

“The reality is that bringing a show back without your writers is an attempt to devalue our labor and devalue the work that we do,” WGA captain Chris Hazzard told The Hollywood Reporter. “And there’s no way to make a show without writing. So whether that’s picking guests or talking about who’s going to speak when or doing pre-interviews to update your hosts about what the topic is going to be, all of that is writing. And so that work being done is scabbing and we will be out here with a picket sign until it stops.”

The Talk‘s decision comes the same day that Drew Barrymore announced her decision to pause the return of The Drew Barrymore Show, amid backlash.

On Sunday, the 48-year-old host took to Instagram to share the message with her followers. 

“I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” the host of the daytime program wrote as a caption next to a picture of the same message. “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.”

In a statement to ET, a spokesperson from CBS Media Ventures, which produces The Drew Barrymore Show, read, “We support Drew’s decision to pause the show’s return and understand how complex and difficult this process has been for her.”

Barrymore’s message came after the took to Instagram on Friday, in a since-deleted emotional video, defending her choice to move forward with her show.

At the time, Barrymore shared that she still had plans to move forward with the premiere. 

“I believe there is nothing I can do or say in this moment to make it OK,” she said, alluding to the backlash she received for her decision to resume production. “I wanted to own a decision so that it wasn’t a PR-protected situation and I would just take full responsibility for my actions. I know there’s just nothing I can do that will make this OK for those it is not OK with. I fully accept that. I fully understand that.”

The host reassured her followers and fans that she would be in compliance will all of the rules. 

“We aren’t going to break rules and we are going to be in compliance,” she said. “I wanted to do this because, as I said, this is bigger than me and there are other people’s jobs on the line,” she said. “Since launching live in a pandemic, I just wanted to make a show that was there for people in sensitive times. I weighed the scales and I thought, ‘If we could go on during a global pandemic, and everything that the world has experienced through 2020, why would this sideline us?'”

Bill Maher said his show, Real Time With Bill Maher, would likewise return without writers. The Jennifer Hudson Show and Sherri, hosted by Sherri Shepherd, are reportedly returning to production for season premieres in the coming weeks.

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