With the Writers Guild of America having struck a tentative agreement to end the ongoing strike, The Drew Barrymore Show is eying a return to the airwaves.
ET has learned that The Drew Barrymore Show is looking to return in October.
Host Drew Barrymore faced intense backlash earlier this month after her announcement that her daytime talk show would return for season four, amid the WGA strikes, but without WGA writers.
A week after that controversial announcement, Barrymore apologized publicly and announced that she was going to pause the return of the show, amid the outcry.
“I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” the host wrote as a caption next to a picture of the same message, which she shared on Sept. 17.
“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 continued. “We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.”
In a statement to ET, a spokesperson from CBS Media Ventures, which produces The Drew Barrymore Show, read, “We support Drew’s decision to pause the show’s return and understand how complex and difficult this process has been for her.”
However, on Sunday, the WGA and the struck a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to end the strike.
While the deal still has to be drafted and faces several votes by WGA officials and members, it’s expected by many that the deal will be ratified and finalized in the next few weeks. Until then, the strike is not officially over, however the WGA has suspended picketing efforts and protests.
On Monday, ET spoke with Dominic Patten, senior editor at Deadline Hollywood, and he shared some insights on what the end of the strike could mean for the return of TV shows.
“You can pretty much rest assured that late night TV shows are gonna come back very soon after the ratification vote. I would say within days, if not hours,” Patten shared. “You’re also gonna see talk shows that are gonna come back on, daytimers very quickly. You’re also gonna see other daytime shows come on.”
“If you’re looking at your primetime schedule, that’s gonna take a little bit longer,” he added. “Because, of course, you’re gonna need actors for that. And the actors union is still hasn’t even started their negotiations with the studios and streamers.”
While it appears that the WGA strike will likely soon be coming to an end, the SAG-AFTRA strike is still ongoing.
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