The Drew Barrymore Show is once again readying its return — though a trio of WGA writers have chosen not to return to their old gig.
Barrymore found herself in hot water last month when she announced that her daytime talk show would make its fourth season debut without its striking writers. A week later, after Barrymore faced backlash and at least a few panicked guest cancellations, she revealed that she’d be reversing course, pausing the show‘s return until the WGA strike concluded.
But with the WGA strike now over, the show is set to come back Oct. 16, and those writers — Chelsea White, Cristina Kinon and Liz Koe — have declined an offer to return with it, according to sources. The production is now interviewing new writers and will be in compliance with the guild.
Though “The Drew Barrymore Show” is preparing to go back on the air, its three head writers have declined to return with it. The development comes less than a month after Barrymore found herself in a firestorm of controversy for announcing a return to production before the WGA strike concluded.
A source close to the talk show shared that the three writers — Chelsea White, Cristina Kinon and Liz Koe— were offered deals after the WGA strike order was lifted on Sept. 27. The trio, who shared the position of co-head writer on the series, declined.
The talk show is set to broadcast its first new episode in months on Oct. 16. New writers are now being interviewed to replace the trio.
Asked at that time whether they planned to return to the show once the strike was resolved, White simply said: “Maybe no comment.”
While controversial, Barrymore’s initial decision to return without her writing staff did not violate SAG-AFTRA rules. As a SAG-AFTRA rep stated at the time, “The Drew Barrymore Show is produced under the Network Television Code, which is a separate contract and is not struck. It is permissible work and Drew’s role as host does not violate the current strike rules.” Nevertheless, Barrymore preemptively defended the decision to bring her show back in a now infamous Sept. 10 social media post, which quickly made her a target.