“The way it looks on the outside, it was an intimidating time. It was an intimidating job and there's just no guarantees,” Barrymore, 49, told Us Weekly of her talk show on the set of the game show Hollywood Squares , which premieres this January on CBS. “I really did not think at certain points that we would ever get here. And so, it is such a gift to everyone doing the show because then they know they have some job certainty. We’re not going year to year.”
Calling her eponymous talk show “the biggest gift,” she added: “It gives us a huge sigh of relief. … This is the nicest, coziest, best gift to everyone making the show that we get to stay. And a lot of these jobs just don't make it this far and there are no guarantees, so this isn't like, 'Oh yeah!' It's like, 'Oh, thank goodness!' This is such a gift and a privilege that I don't take one thing for granted and I'm really excited for everyone who works on the show to take a sigh of big relief.”
The Drew Barrymore Show premiered in September 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, something which Barrymore said helped her and the show’s crew learn on the fly. “Years one and years two, you're calling people going, ‘Don't take another job. I believe we're going to get another year,’ and then, they're like, ‘Oh, we're not certain,’” she explained, adding that as a producer, it’s her job to be “concerned” about the crew’s livelihood.
“There was a while where I was like, ‘I feel like my worst identity and happiness might be wrapped up in this. That doesn’t seem healthy,’” she continued. “So, OK, but that's how much we cared about it, you know. And if you don't believe in it, you won't put that level of yourself into it, but then when you put your level, that level of yourself into it, then that renewal becomes really important.”
As the show prepares to return for its fifth season next month, Barrymore told Us that hosting the series has been “a really great journey” so far. “I'm really, really, really grateful that we got [renewed],” she added. “Yeah, this is a huge celebration. Huge!”
Drew Barrymore Courtesy of Drew Barrymore Show
The Drew Barrymore Show was picked up for season 6 earlier this month, which will carry the series through the 2025-2026 TV season. “Drew is a one-of-a-kind talent who is an integral part of the CBS and Paramount family,” Wendy McMahon , president and CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures, said in a press release statement. “This early renewal and upgrades are a testament to our commitment to The Drew Barrymore Show and its loyal audience, who tune in every day to see Drew’s warmth, inquisitiveness and spontaneity.”
In addition to her talk show’s return, Barrymore is staying busy with her role on the updated version of the game show Hollywood Squares . The actress will occupy the show’s center square on a board of fellow celebrities as contestants compete in a star-studded game of tic-tac-toe.
Barrymore has also teased a potential return to acting, exclusively telling Us in May that her daughters Olive, 11, and Frankie, 10, gave her the OK to take on a new role. “I think the girls are like, ‘Yeah, Mom, we're doing great. If you want to go do that, go back and do things,’” she shared earlier this year. “So getting that permission from them was really huge and sort of opened up my mind, so we'll see.”
Season 5 of The Drew Barrymore Show premieres on CBS stations Monday, September 9.
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