Drew Barrymore Pauses Show's Return Until End of Strike

Drew Barrymore is pausing the return of her self-titled talk show amid the writer's strike, and Jennifer Hudson, Bill Maher, and The Talk are following suit. Last week, Barrymore revealed that the Drew Barrymore Show would be returning without writers and would abide by strike rules in not discussing struck work. After she received pushback, the actress and host shared a now-deleted apology video on Friday explaining her previous decision to return the show to production. The video was also met with criticism. Then, Barrymore shared a statement on Instagram on Sunday that read, 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." She concluded by writing, We really tried to find our way forward, and I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon. A spokesperson for the Drew Barrymore Show shared a statement that read, We support Drew's decision to pause the show's return and understand how complex and difficult this process has been for her. Following this news, The Talk announced a similar plan. CBS said in a statement, The Talk is pausing its season premiere scheduled for September 18th. We will continue to evaluate plans for a new launch date. The Jennifer Hudson Show is also now postponing its season premiere, which was slated for Monday, while writers remain on strike. Sources say Hudson advocated for the postponement. Plus, Bill Maher announced Monday morning that he will not return to his HBO show real-time this week. He wrote on social media, My decision to return to work was made when it seemed nothing was happening and there was no end in sight to the strike. Now that both sides have agreed to go back to the negotiating table, I'm going to delay the return of real-time for now and hope they can finally get this done. For more on this story and the latest updates, head to THR.com. This is The Hollywood Reporter News.