'Drew Barrymore Show' co-host Ross Mathews now living on LI

Actor-producer Drew Barrymore's syndicated daytime talk show returns for season 3 Monday with a newly flexible format and an old co-host who is a new Long Islander.

"The Drew Barrymore Show" is now available to stations as "two half-hour episodes that can seamlessly run together back-to-back or be split apart to air separately," producer-distributor CBS Media Ventures announced earlier this year. Locally, WCBS/2 opens the season with Episode 1 on Monday at 9:30 a.m., while WLNY/55 opens with both Episode 1 and 2 early Tuesday at 3 and 3:30 a.m. 

The season's opening guest is actor Justin Long, a star of the new horror film "Barbarian" and Barrymore's ex-boyfriend. The following day's show goes remote to singer Katy Perry's Las Vegas residency, “Play." The two subsequent days feature, respectively, actor Selma Blair and her new memoir; and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her daughter, writer-activist Chelsea Clinton, discussing their new Apple TV+ documentary series "Gutsy," spotlighting influential women.

The week's final show introduces a new segment, "Drewber," in which Barrymore drives a minivan around New York City while conversing with the day's guests, beginning with actor Idris Elba and his wife Sabrina.

Barrymore's co-host, comic and TV personality Ross Mathews returns as a newly minted Long Islander after moving here from Los Angeles following his marriage in May to Wellinthon García, a Long Island educator.

"When we were making our home, you know, it was, like, Long Island's it!" Mathews, who turns 43 later this month, told Newsday TV's Elisa DiStefano. "I knew nothing. And now I ride the LIRR every single day and I walk from Penn Station and I come here and every weekend we just explore Long Island," he said, adding, "I love how different the North Shore is from the South Shore: You go from the sandy beautiful beaches [that make] you feel like you are in Florida, to up to the North Shore [where] you feel like you are in New England. … And can we talk about the food!" 

Also returning to do audience warm-up is one of the deans of Long Island stand-up comedy, Joey Kola (né Kohler), 60, who was raised in Bay Shore and lives in Bellmore.

Other scheduled guests this season include George Clooney, Susan Sarandon, Tyler Perry, Serena Williams, Nick Kroll, Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane, Jon Hamm, Hilary Swank, Naomi Watts and Constance Wu.

With Elisa DiStefano