‘Jennifer Hudson Show’ Delaying Season 2 Premiere Amid Strikes

The Jennifer Hudson Show is following The Drew Barrymore Show and The Talk in delaying its upcoming season while the writers remain on strike.

A source close to the production confirms to Deadline that after much discussion, and at Hudson’s urging, The Jennifer Hudson Show is pausing production and its season two premiere, which was slated for Monday, September 18.

Hosted by the Oscar winner, The Jennifer Hudson Show, distributed by Warner Bros.,  features celebrity interviews, topical stories, community heroes, viral sensations, and music.

Earlier today, Drew Barrymore announced she was putting the return of her syndicated talk show on hold, and CBS also announced The Talk was delaying its season premiere and was evaluating plans for a new launch date. Both shows also were set to premiere tomorrow September 18, and had come under intense criticism from striking actors.

Deadline announced on Sept. 4 that The Drew Barrymore Show would return for a fourth season on Monday, Sept. 18, sparking backlash. Barrymore defended the move in an Instagram post last weekend, saying the decision “is bigger than me.” Over the past week, the controversy continued to grow, with the E.T. star drawing intense criticism from the WGA and her fellow actors.

“Drew Barrymore should not be on the air while her writers are on strike fighting for a fair deal,” a guild spokesperson told Deadline last week after her announcement. “In reality, shows like this cannot operate without writing, and that is struck work.”

On Friday, Barrymore posted an emotional apology video on Instagram, which was met by more criticism. She later took the video down.

 A spokesperson for CBS Media Ventures, which is behind the daytime talker, defended the show’s return in a statement Friday to Deadline, saying they “are very mindful and sensitive to the complex circumstances surrounding the show’s return and we will be in full compliance with all our labor agreements and any strike rules.”

WGA picketers had targeted The Talk outside CBS Radford since it was announced that the show planned to return.

The Talk, hosted by Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, Jerry O’Connell and Sheryl Underwood, went dark in May as a result of the writers strike.

Produced by CBS Studios, The Talk is heading into Season 14.