‘The Jennifer Hudson Show’ Delays Premiere Amid Actors, Writers Strikes
The Jennifer Hudson Show will not be returning as originally planned amid the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Rolling Stone has learned. The news follows Drew Barrymore’s announcement that her show would also pause production following intense criticism when she initially announced plans to resume the show.
Hudson’s Fox show was originally set to premiere its new season on Monday, Sept. 18. CBS show The Talk, which was also set to return on Monday, has also changed its plans and will not resume tomorrow.
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“The Talk is pausing its season premiere scheduled for September 18,” a spokesperson for CBS said in a statement to Variety. “We will continue to evaluate plans for a new launch date. ”The show is co-hosted by Jerry O’Connell, Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales and Sheryl Underwood, and has one writing position on staff.
On Sunday, Barrymore announced she would “pause” her daytime talk show until the ongoing strikes are resolved, reversing course from a week prior when she announced that production on the Drew Barrymore Show would return — sans writers — despite the double-strike that currently has Hollywood in a standstill. Her initial decision to return faced intense criticism and the production was picketed, though she was not in violation of SAG-AFTRA strike rules: she is technically allowed to film the daytime talk show because even though she’s a member of the actor’s guild SAG, guild contracts for talk shows were renewed last year.
“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,” Barrymore wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday. “We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.”
Meanwhile, talk shows including Sherri Shepherd’s Sherri is set to return on Monday on Fox (though it is not a struck show covered by the Writers Guild of America), and ABC’s The View, which has two WGA writers on staff and has been picketed by striking WGA members, has been airing throughout the strikes without its writers. Kelly Clarkson’s NBC talk show has not yet announced a premiere date.
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