The dissident star
The last week has been eventful for Drew Barrymore. The actress, who has hosted a talk show bearing her name since 2020, announced the return of her show for a fourth season on September 18, despite the current strike in the television and cinema industry.
Although the writers and actors (also on strike) halted television and film production in the United States, Barrymore said in an Instagram post (now removed) that she took full responsibility for her decision, particularly because other employees of the show would be affected by the cessation of activities. The union representing screenwriters, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), did not find his arguments convincing. With the show’s three writers on strike, any writing work contravenes the guild’s guidelines.
“Writers write the monologues and questions for shows like Drew Barrymore’s,” explains Barry Eidlin, associate professor of sociology at McGill University, in an interview with The Press.
Even though she said she supported the union, her actions broke the strike.
Barry Eidlin, associate professor of sociology at McGill University
“Everything is a little more vague in Hollywood,” he adds. It’s not like a factory that can’t operate if workers stop coming, so studios can try to bend the rules. »
Too little, too late
Filming resumed last week, without a scriptwriter, and the episodes filmed in advance were to be broadcast from Monday. The Drew Barrymore Show is produced by CBS, and members of the writers’ union (supported by viewers) picketed in front of the studios as soon as filming resumed.
Faced with increasingly virulent criticism, Drew Barrymore decided to publish a video on Instagram last Friday in which she tried to justify her choice. “My intention was never to hurt anyone,” she said, while insisting that the return of her talk show was “in accordance” with the guild’s strike rules. “I certainly didn’t expect this kind of attention,” she said.
This video was deleted a few hours after it was posted online, as criticism mounted. Actress Alyssa Milano notably told the Associated Press that this decision was “damaging” for the strike movement and “not the best choice”.
Writing without a screenwriter
“I think the stakes are bigger than the three of us, screenwriters of the Drew Barrymore Show », Testified Chelsea White, one of the writers of the show, in front of the CBS studios last week. “It’s disappointing to hear that the show is coming back anyway, because it sends the message that union writers are worthless. And that goes directly against what the WGA, SAG-AFTRA [syndicat représentant les acteurs] and all the unions are trying to do to oppose the greedy studios,” she added, interviewed by the Hollywood Reporter.
The following question then arises: how can a show be made without the writers who write it? “We have to find people who are ready to work despite the strike to replace the screenwriters. But it’s a big risk because they won’t be able to work when it’s over,” says sociologist Barry Eidlin.
Other shows, like The View, an ABC studio talk show hosted notably by Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines and Joy Behar, are still broadcast, despite the strike. Goldberg had indicated that the other current strike, that of SAG-AFTRA, did not concern them directly and that the animators would work without a scriptwriter for the duration of the strike.
Drew Barrymore [aussi] said she would write her own monologues, but there’s a good reason why these shows are done with a big crew and writers.
Barry Eidlin, associate professor of sociology at McGill University
Back to square one
“I have listened to everyone and am making the decision to suspend the premiere of the show until the strike is over,” Drew Barrymore wrote on her Instagram page on Sunday. “I have no words to express my deepest apologies to everyone I have hurt and, of course, our incredible team who work on the show and have made it what it is today . We really tried to find a way to move forward. And I sincerely hope that a solution will be found very soon for the entire industry. »
With this short message, the actress and host put an end to the controversy. Many messages under the post thank her for changing her mind. “We know it was difficult and it means a lot to us that you changed your mind,” wrote Travis Helwig, a screenwriter based in Los Angeles, for example. The WGA also commented: “Thank you Drew. » The CBS studio said it supported Drew Barrymore’s decision in a statement to the magazine Variety. “We understand how complex and difficult this process has been for her,” the studio said. The episodes filmed last week will never be broadcast.
And what’s next?
While studios and unions are talking these days about returning to the bargaining table, other shows like Drew Barrymore’s are postponing their return to the air, including Bill Maher’s talk show, Jennifer Hudson’s and The Talkhosted by Sara Gilbert.
“Hollywood unions go on strike every time there are major technological changes,” such as the arrival of television in 1960 or the move to pay cable television in the early 1980s, recalls Barry Eidlin.
“The repercussions of these strikes are not felt immediately, because when we turn on the TV, we still have plenty of shows and there are still plenty of films in the cinemas. But we are getting closer to the moment when it will start to be felt in the studios’ profits, because the new seasons will not have been filmed and neither will the next big films. It will change things. »