Drew Barrymore Daytime Talk Show a Go at CBS

By Will Thorne

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Drew Barrymore is officially going to be a daytime talk show host.

The actress is set to headline a syndicated talk show for CBS Television Distribution, which is aiming at a fall 2020 launch. Barrymore shot a pilot for the show back in August, as Variety exclusively reported, and clearly it came out strong enough to warrant a big commitment.

“It is beyond my wildest dreams to have this opportunity for a daily talk show,” Barrymore said. “I’m truly thrilled and honored to be creating this show with .”

CBS Television Stations group is on board to anchor the launch of Barrymore’s show, including on KCBS-TV in Los Angeles and WCBS-TV in New York. News of the pickup was announced by Steve LoCascio, chief operating and financial officer of CBS Global Distribution Group.

“Drew is a huge star and a breath of fresh air – her show will energize any station’s lineup,” LoCascio said. “We’re looking forward to working with Peter Dunn and the CBS Television Stations group to launch this premium show in fall 2020.”

The show will be produced and distributed by CBS Television Distribution, with Barrymore, Chris Miller and Ember Truesdell set as executive producers.

“We are very excited to be in business with and have our stations serve as the launch group for a show that is the brightest prospect I have seen in many years,” said Peter Dunn, president of CBS Television Stations. “We look forward to giving Drew and our colleagues at CBS Television Distribution our full support to help this show strike gold with our audience and advertisers.”

Barrymore circled a talk show deal with  Warner Bros.’ Telepictures in 2016, but a pilot never came to fruition, partly because of a lukewarm response from prospective station groups at the time.

After several years with a drought of new entries, the first-run syndication market has been given a kick recently with the arrival of three new shows fronted by notable names. The shows in question are “Tamron Hall,” hosted by the former “Today” anchor, “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” and “Judge Jerry,” which features the return of Jerry Springer.

Barrymore has become active as a TV producer and personality in recent years. In addition to starring in and executive producing “” on Netflix, she was a judge on CBS’ reality show “The World’s Best” and provided the voice-over for NBC unscripted dating show “First Dates.”