After all that, Drew Barrymore’s show is probably returning next month

Two weeks after becoming the first daytime talk show host to attempt to bring her show back amid a 146-day labor action, Drew Barrymore, like much Hollywood, is ready to return to work. Now that the strike is inching towards resolution, with the WGA announcing it reached a tentative deal with the AMPTP, Variety reports that the Drew Barrymore Show is eyeing an October return.

In mid-September, Barrymore torpedoed her persona as bubbly, socially awkward every woman who happens to be a member of one of Hollywood’s most extensive dynasties by bravely announcing a return to date for her show in the middle of the WGA strike. The announcement faced a swift rebuttal via public backlash. Undeterred, Barrymore took “full accountability” for bringing the show back, apologized to the unions and strikers, reasserted her decision, and inspired other shows to return, too. Two days later, after she finally “listened to everyone” and reversed course. Lo and behold, the shows she encouraged to break the strike did the same.

“I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore wrote on Instagram. “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. We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.”

But now the strike’s (probably) over, and what world is Barrymore returning to? A month ago, she was one of us, a closer talker and an active listener, the keeper of an open seat for anyone with tired feet. Today, she’s Drew Barrymore, one of the few iconoclasts the National Book Awards has ever fired from hosting its ceremony. How will this new rebellious Drew Barrymore stack up? Hard to say.