Sherri Shepherd is bringing back her daytime talk show despite the fact that the WGA an SAG-AFTRA unions are on strike. She explained why her show will go on.

Drew Barrymore and Bill Maher reversed their decisions to bring their talk shows back despite the WGA strike and will wait for the strike’s resolution. Sherri Shepherd has a daytime talk show and she is explaining how it is that she is able to bring her show back, relatively drama-free. The new season of her show started on Monday.

I’ve never watched her show but I know she is an alum of The View and she’s an actress. She’s probably pretty good as a talk show host because she has a bubbly kind of personality. As it turns out, her show has never employed WGA union writers so it isn’t something that will stop her show’s return. It’s as simple as that.

“This summer you all may have seen your favorite actors and Hollywood stars have been on the picket lines with the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. There has been so much confusion about who can work and who can’t work. Well, I’m a SAG-AFTRA actress and I actually marched with some of my colleagues while in Los Angeles recently. That’s me with Viola Davis, Niecy Nash,” she said. “But here’s the thing, talk shows in general fall under a different union contract code, so we’re allowed to come back unless you’re a WGA show. The Sherri show is not a WGA show and we have never employed WGA writers, so us coming back to work isn’t crossing the picket line.”

She wants everyone to know that she’s a steadfast union member – marching on a picket line and all – but her show is not a WGA show. She isn’t crossing a picket line. She writes jokes for the show.

Sherri pointed out how residuals have kept her going during lean times.

Shepherd empathized with those writers and actors striking. “My heart is breaking for all of the people that can’t work right now and I hope our industry can get this strike resolved soon,” she added. “I stand in solidarity with my union. One of the things that we’re fighting for is better residuals. … residuals during times that I was not working kept the lights on. My residual payments helped me care for Jeffrey when he was born at 25 weeks. So good residual payments are important to actors.”

She is concerned about AI as others in her industry are. They are afraid that jobs will be lost as AI is used more. She thinks AI may replace actors and writers, too. She may be right about that.

Other non-WGA shows are Live With Kelly and Mark, and Tamron Hall.

The WGA and the studios are set to resume negotiations on Wednesday. The WGA sent a note to its members.

“The WGA and AMPTP now have a confirmed schedule to bargain this week, starting on Wednesday. You might not hear from us in the coming days while we are negotiating, but know that our focus is getting a fair deal for writers as soon as possible. We’ll reach out again when there is something of significance to report. In the meantime, please continue to demonstrate your commitment and unity by coming out to the picket lines – for yourselves and fellow writers, SAG-AFTRA, other unions’ members, and all those in our community who are impacted by the strikes,” the guild noted.

Never fear. Gavin Newsom is on it. No, really. He told CNN’s Dana Bash that he has been talking to both the WGA and the studios. He plans to meet with them again later this week, he said. Bash asked him why he hasn’t been walking a picket line like New York Governor Kathy Hochul did last month. Newsom, a smooth talker and a consummate politician, explained he is working both sides. He is in a “different position.”

Bash noted that Newsom supports the UAW strike but won’t go that far when it comes to WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

“That’s the same question,” he replied. “I absolutely support what their concerns are. I support WGA and SAG as it relates to their existential stress as it related to streaming and how it’s radically changing the business model, as it relates to artificial intelligence. One thing I know about artificial intelligence is that we don’t know what we don’t know. And that anxiety stacked upon all the stress and anxiety that we’ve all been feeling around income and wealth disparities and all the challenges post-pandemic that we’ve gone through makes the perfect stew of stress that’s leading to a lot of anxiety that we’re experiencing all across the country.”

He added: “You’re seeing it more broadly as labor’s exercising more muscle out of more fear and stress about the world we’re living in. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think, fundamentally, that’s a good thing. I believe in collective bargaining. I believe working families and the working poor do better when they organize together. … There’s not a state in our nation that does more to support that framework and those bargaining units.”

Like I said, he’s a smooth-talking fence-sitter. Meh. Besides, he’s too busy running for the Democrat primary nomination to get too involved in something as time-consuming as labor negotiations.