The Jennifer Hudson Show has pushed back its scheduled premiere date.
The second season of Hudson’s talk show was originally set to air on Monday but will hold off. A new date has not yet been announced. The decision comes amid growing backlash against talk shows given the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
was the first to report the news.
The backlash began last week when Drew Barrymore announced that The Drew Barrymore Show would begin filming its new season despite the strike. At the time, she wrote on Instagram of the decision, “I own this choice.”
In the days following, she faced major opposition from the public and was accused of crossing the picket line by resuming her show. Adding to the pushback, two audience members who attended the first taping were ejected for wearing pins and t-shirts in support of the strikes.
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Dominic Turiczek wrote that he and a friend were “kicked out & verbally assaulted by @DrewBarrymore ‘s crew.”
A representative from the show expressed “regret” over how the situation was handled in a statement shared, and added that “Drew was completely unaware of the incident.”
After sharing a since-deleted tearful apology video on Instagram and attempting to explain her decision, Barrymore, 48, announced on Sunday that her show would pause production until the strike ended.
“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,” the actress wrote in a statement shared on Instagram. “We really tried to find our way forward.”
On Sunday, it is also confirmed that would be delaying its season 14 premiere date.
“ The Talk is pausing its season premiere scheduled for September 18,” CBS said in a statement on Sunday. “We will continue to evaluate plans for a new launch date.”
After it was announced on Wednesday that the series would return amid the Hollywood strikes, reported that WGA members began picketing outside the Radford Studio Center in Studio City, California, where The Talk and other CBS productions are filmed.
Hudson became emotional when it was first announced that her talk show would be returning for a second season in January.
“I think this happens to all of us as adults. We’re so busy doing stuff that we never stop to think about ‘This is what I prayed for, this is what I wanted, it’s happening.’ And embrace it,” she said during the announcement. “Well, this is one of those moments.”
She also applauded the fans, as well as the crew and staff of The Jennifer Hudson Show, who work “like nobody’s business” to pull the talk series together.
“I’m still processing the fact that Jennifer got a show!” she said.
