Talk-show limbo: The new front in Hollywood’s wage war
Daytime television, after years of faded relevance, is suddenly the talk of the entertainment world, said Lacey Rose and Rick Porter in The Hollywood Reporter. “Trouble is, the shows making headlines are largely the ones not airing.” Drew Barrymore, actress, talk-show host, and “beloved National Treasure,” attracted by far most the attention, said Kyndall Cunningham in The Daily Beast. And she probably deserved it. Early last week, the Hollywood veteran announced that her syndicated show would be returning on Sept. 18 despite the actors’ and writers’ strikes that have shut down most film and TV production this summer. But her plan required proceeding without three striking writers, which drew picket lines and sharp online criticism. She was even booted from hosting this fall’s National Book Awards. After trying to explain herself in a tearful Instagram video, she finally reversed course and announced that her show won’t return until the strike ends. She had taken far more heat than rivals who’ve kept their shows on air, but “when your whole brand is being kind and empathetic,” you can’t look like you might be a strike buster.
Last week, writers were picketing Barrymore, said Mary McNamara in the Los Angeles Times. “This week, the guild should be sending her flowers.” The star’s misadventure highlighted how united and ready for attack writers remain in their battle for a better contract from studios. Their pushback prompted Barrymore, then Jennifer Hudson and Bill Maher, to cancel planned Sept. 18 returns, and while today’s talk shows produce only modest profits, those pullouts handed the writers guild “a very powerful weapon” just in time for what could be a final round of contract talks. When writers struck in 2007, the picket line wasn’t policed so closely, and many talk shows carried on. Today, social media speeds the spread of outrage over perceived offense, and support for union demands has surged. “This is clearly not your father’s writers’ strike,” because “the mood of the country is different.”