As Drew Barrymore announced she had changed her decision to resume her talk show amid the writers strike, ‘The Jennifer Hudson Show’ and ‘The Talk’ also have delayed their returns.
A CBS spokesperson told Variety in a statement Sunday: ‘The Talk is pausing its season premiere scheduled for September 18. We will continue to evaluate plans for a new launch date.’ The series, which first hit the air in 2010, features co-hosts Jerry O’Connell, Sheryl Underwood, Natalie Morales, Akbar Gbajabiamila and Amanda Kloots. The Talk last produced new episodes before the writers strike commenced May 2. Picketers were outside of a rehearsal show outside of the Studio City, California facility where it is filmed last week, according to the outlet. Sources told Variety that The Jennifer Hudson Show, which was slated to debut its second season Monday, also paused production amid the ongoing labor dispute
Barrymore’s initial decision to return to the air without her three union writers and with picketers outside her studio was met with pushback on social media. Barrymore drew criticism for taping new episodes of her daytime talk show despite the ongoing strikes, but has since changed course and said she’ll wait until the labor issues are resolved before returning to the air. She posted on Instagram: ‘I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show´s premiere until the strike is over. 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.’ AA CBS Media Ventures spokesperson said in a statement: ‘We support Drew’s decision to pause the show´s return and understand how complex and difficult this process has been for her.’
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