Drew Barrymore leads other shows in not crossing the picket line. Is this a good thing?
Episode 29Play
While the Hollywood labor union standoff remains at an impasse, Kevin “Boss” Ross questions whether it was wise for actress Drew Barrymore to pause her talk show as more daytime syndicated television programs like hers struggle to get and stay on the air.
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Hi, I’m Kevin Ross and this is The Podcast. Drew Barrymore Leads Other Shows In Not Crossing The Picket Line. Is this a good thing?
Daytime television has seen a few heavyweights recently make some bold moves all in solidarity with their fellow artists out in them picket line streets.
Panelists from “The Talk” as well as powerhouse singer, Jennifer Hudson have followed actress Drew Barrymore’s lead in pausing their new talk show seasons until these major Hollywood labor strikes are resolved.
Comedian Bill Maher has also joined the chorus saying that “Real Time with Bill Maher” will not as previously planned return to HBO on September 22nd. Unions, SAG AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America had joined others such as UPS employees, United Auto Workers, educators and health care professionals in calling for better labor conditions in this country. But what exactly is SAG AFTRA and the WGA demanding?
One, fair treatment and equitable compensation. Two, not to be replaced with artificial intelligence, three smaller writers rooms, four not having streamers like Netflix erase shows from platforms and five transparency over viewership numbers impacting residuals. Look, I get it. There are however
unintended consequences here. Leaving viewers and the industry at large grappling with an entertainment vacuum during this prolonged coming up on six months of impasse, guys.
Now, after being roasted for insisting her show was going forward and likely getting some celebrity guest cancellations if we’re gonna keep it real.
Drew Barrymore is holding onto hope for dear life. She along with everyone else is waiting on the results of the September 20th meeting between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers, the, the Paramount, the Warner Discoveries, the Amazons, you get the picture. Now, if these strikes don’t get settled by October, it’s unlikely work will resume
before January of 2024. Which would be devastating for not only the artists, technicians and crews who make these shows possible, but also the lawyers, the agents, managers, publicists, security, food servers and the stylists behind all the glitz and glamour. As supportive as I am of labor, here’s the deal.
Real talk and Drew knows this better than anyone. There’s a growing trend of cancellations in one massive entertainment sector. It’s daytime, the one I belong to with “America’s Court” for over 13 years. A number of long running programs including “the Ellen Degeneres show””, the Wendy Williams show”, “the People’s Court”, “Maury”, “Jerry Springer”, “Doctor Oz”, “Rachel Ray”, “Doctor Phil”. They’ve all ended in the past 18 months.
More and more stations across the United States are substituting those programs with endless news blocks and repeats of shows no longer in production.
And once upon a time, there was not only quality but a wide variety in daytime. Today, syndication is fighting for survival as studios focus their attention on streaming platforms, right? So while broadcast channels still need talk shows, game shows, court, news magazines and the soaps, it’s, it’s getting more difficult to keep this content coming.
This fall, eight new shows debut four court, three game shows, and a repackaged “48 Hours”. Not one, not one was a talk show, why? Most would say high costs coupled with diminishing returns.
Now shows like Drew Barrymore will come back, they’re required to produce a certain amount of episodes for 35 to 40 weeks. It, it’s not an option, especially from a contractual standpoint.
Now, if they don’t, over 200 programmers in cities across the country will have these huge gaps to fill in their schedules unless they just put on repeats. Production companies will end up being sued by stations and advertisers for millions because repeats don’t garner the same number of eyeballs.
I tell you something else shows will inevitably be punished, relegated to two and 3 a.m. time slots because they didn’t return when they were supposed to, which will only expedite their demise. Translation, hundreds of people out of work.
And that’s just on one show. Let me pivot for a second. Ratings wise, here’s where things stand in terms of talk shows in the second quarter of this year, you know, around April of 2023 “Live with Kelly and Ryan” did a 1.6 rating when Ryan Seacrest was still a part of that show, about 2.6 million people watching. Kelly Clarkson was second and Drew Barry Moore, they were tied, each had a 0.9 rating.
In fact, Doctor Phil was second, they were tied for third. Tamron Hall did a 0.8 rating. Among the rookies, Sherri rated a 0.7 just over a million views. Jennifer Hudson did a 0.6. Karamo did a 0.5.
In her heyday, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” had over 10 million daily viewers, which is likely the reason why Sherri Shepherd has returned despite the strike as has Tamron Hall and Karamo.
“Kelly Clarkson’s Chat Fest”, which moved from L.A. to New York over the summer hasn’t announced a premiere date as of yet. Now, granted these shows are able to proceed because their contractual agreements allow them to continue. They’re not in conflict with these labor unions. What remains unclear to me is why “The View” with its two striking WGA writers on staff yet has never ceased production and live with now, Kelly and Mark also a network show have been able to avoid the scab label.
Too big to fail? Mm Perhaps, but what I know for sure is that the absence of fresh content is leaving a void and it’s causing daytime viewers to search for alternatives in an already challenging period. As one television executive pointed out more repeats just mean a quicker death march. Quote if there’s not a way to do original programming, then you can see the end of national syndication.
It’s no wonder then why Disney Ceo Bob Iger has signaled that the mouse company is looking to exit the linear TV business altogether. Enter Allen Media Group, Ceo Byron Allen, my boss, offering $10 billion for the ABC National TV Network, which includes stations FX and the National Geographic cable channel. While Byron Allen remains committed and bullish on traditional media, he’s in the minority.
That’s a tough pill to swallow because this shutdown is also leading to significant disruptions in the schedule of many primetime TV series as well as films. And before you know, it, public sentiment will inevitably turn against the very artists advocating for change. Come on, how much longer will it be before audiences tire of their scheduled programs not being there to enjoy and simply fill their time in other ways? Look, real talk.
Before it’s too late. We gotta strike, pun intended, a reasonable balance between advocating for workers’ rights and ensuring that both the viewers and workers themselves help the industry as a whole, are not unduly burdened by these work stoppages.
It’s not gonna be pretty, there’s going to be some pain. That said. Time to get it done, folks. That’s my take. Now, let’s go.
I’m Kevin Ross and this is The Podcast Powered by TheGrio. Follow me @IamBossRoss on Instagram and Twitter. Thanks for listening. See you next time.
