CBS has postponed season 14 of “The Talk” amid growing scrutiny over the return of daytime talk shows during the Hollywood writers and actors strikes.
The chat series is “pausing its season premiere,” originally scheduled for Sept. 18, a network spokesperson confirmed Sunday in a statement provided to the Los Angeles Times. The statement did not mention the strikes.
“We will continue to evaluate plans for a new launch date,” the spokesperson said.
CBS delayed the next season of “The Talk” by hours after Drew Barrymore announced that he would postpone the premiere of the fourth season of his talk show until the writers’ strike ends. The actress and television host made the decision to stop production after receiving widespread criticism for filming her show during the strikes.
“There are no words to express my sincere apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who work on the show and make it what it is today,” Barrymore said in a statement Sunday.
“I really hope that an industry-wide resolution will be reached soon.”
The Writers Guild of America has expressed its disapproval of striking shows, such as “The Drew Barrymore Show,” “The View” and “The Talk,” that move forward while their writers are on strike.
Last week, more than 100 WGA members protested a taping of “The Drew Barrymore Show” at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. All three writers from Barrymore’s show participated in the demonstration.
“I can understand why, if someone felt responsible for all the staff and equipment, they would want to go back to work to get paid,” Cristina Kinon, co-director of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” told The Times. on Monday.
“If you feel like you’re sacrificing three writers for a team of hundreds, I see that perspective. But then if you zoom out a little further, you’ll see that it’s not about those three writers. This is an entire union of more than 11,000 writers. And if we zoom out even further, it’s about workers and unions around the world and respecting that people need to fight for fair treatment. That’s what the Writers Guild is doing and I support it.”
A tearful video Barrymore’s response to the backlash but doubling down on her options resulted in even more scrutiny and, within three days, she reversed her decision to bring the show back.
Now, it appears that “The Talk,” hosted by Sheryl Underwood, Natalie Morales, Akbar Gbajabiamila, Jerry O’Connell and Amanda Kloots, has done the same.
Another daytime show that was hit, “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” has also been criticized for planning a return amid the writers’ strike. It is not yet known if that series will follow in the footsteps of Barrymore and “The Talk” by abandoning that plan.