‘Jennifer Hudson Show’ follows other daytime shows with postponed premieres amid strikes

The Jennifer Hudson Show joins other daytime talk shows in postponing its season premiere while its writers remain on strike.

Hudson’s syndicated show, distributed by Warner Bros., was scheduled to premiere Monday but has now been suspended. The decision follows that of The Drew Barrymore Show and CBS’ The conversation. Sources say Hudson argued for the delay.

All three shows have signed the Writers Guild of America’s minimum basic agreement and have employed WGA writers in the past. They were all scheduled to open their seasons on Monday, but have faced a lot of criticism over the past week.

The catalyst for that was Barrymore’s announcement on September 10 that she would debut the fourth season of her show. “I own this choice,” she said in an Instagram post. “We are in agreement with not discussing or promoting film and television that have been affected in any way.”

After a backlash from notable writers and actors, including pickets outside her New York studio, Barrymore apologized Friday but announced no plans to pause production. That happened on Sunday, when the host wrote on Instagram: “I have listened to everyone and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore wrote in a statement on Instagram on Sunday. “I have no words to express my deepest apologies to everyone I have hurt and of course to our incredible team who worked on the show and made it what it is today.”

While much of the criticism has focused on Barrymore—in part because of her public statements and because of her opting out of hosting the MTV Movie and TV Awards in the early weeks of the writers’ strike—notable writers also challenged the decisions of the writers in doubt. The conversation And The Jennifer Hudson Show to announce Monday premieres (Hudson’s show did this several weeks ago). The conversation was picketed because some preparations had been made last week.

A fourth daytime talker the WGA has signed, NBCUniversal’s Kelly Clarkson Show, is in the midst of moving production from Los Angeles to New York and has not yet announced a premiere date. ABCs The view has remained in production during the writers’ and actors’ strikes (and has been posted), although it says the work of its notable writers is not being done by anyone else.

Several other daytime shows including Live with Kelly and Mark, Tamron Hall And Sherrihosted by Sherri Shepherd, do not employ any WGA writers and are in production as usual.