CBS postpones ‘The Talk’ premiere amid backlash due to WGA strike
Postponement of 'The Talk' follows Drew Barrymore's decision to postpone the release of her CBS show
September 17, 2023
CBS has backed out of its plan to premiere The Talk on Monday. “The Talk is pausing its season premiere scheduled for September 18," CBS said in a statement. "We will continue to evaluate plans for a new launch date.”
The announcement comes in the wake of Drew Barrymore's decision to postpone the return of her self-titled talk show today, in response to the backlash from the strike. The Drew Barrymore Show is produced and distributed by CBS Media Ventures.
Writers Guild of America (WGA) picketers had been targeting The Talk outside CBS Radford ever since the show announced its plans to resume production.
The Talk, hosted by Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, Jerry O’Connell, and Sheryl Underwood, went off the air in May due to the writers strike.
It was revealed that the show would return, with sources noting that The Talk is primarily unscripted and has only one writing position among its approximately 150 employees. During the writers strike, this writing position will remain vacant, and the hosts will rely on ad-libbing.
Meanwhile, The View, featuring hosts like Whoopi Goldberg, has also faced regular picketing from the WGA.
On the other hand, Live with Kelly and Mark, hosted by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, recently returned for its 36th season. The former employs writers on a separate contract, while the latter does not employ WGA writers.
