3 Head Writers On 'The Drew Barrymore Show' Aren't Returning Post-Strike

The three head co-writers for “The Drew Barrymore Show” aren’t returning to the daytime talk show, a rep from CBS told HuffPost on Wednesday.

Since the Writers Guild of America strike ended last week, talk shows have begun to resume. Chelsea White, Cristina Kinon and Liz Koe were offered their spots back at Drew Barrymore’s show, which is set to come back Oct. 16, but declined, according to the CBS rep. The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report.

White and Kinon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Koe could not be reached.

The decision to not return comes after Barrymore landed herself in hot water when she announced last month that she would return to the show before the strike was over. In a video explaining her decision, Barrymore apologized to the writers and the union and compared filming the show during the strike to filming it during the COVID-19 lockdown.

“I believe there’s nothing I can do or say in this moment to make it OK,” Barrymore said in September in the now-deleted video. “I wanted to own a decision so that it wasn’t a PR-protected situation and I ... take full responsibility ... I know there’s just nothing I can do that will make this OK for those it is not OK with.”

Barrymore quickly received backlash from the guild and fellow actors, like Debra Messing. Soon after, she announced she would pause the show until the strike was done.

White, Kinon and Koe protested the show’s initial return in September, according to THR. The women picketed outside of the show’s studio with signs like, “Honk if you [love] union labor” or “Drew’s News: Strikes.” (HuffPost’s unionized employees are represented by the Writers Guild of America, East.)