Leno and O'Brien Returning to Late-Night TVby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 17 Dec 2007 11:30 AM Fans of Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien will get to start 2008 with fresh laughs from their favorite late-night comedians after all. Executives at NBC just announced that both the "Tonight" show and "Late Night" will return to TV with new episodes beginning January 2nd, almost exactly two months to the day after the Hollywood writers strike sent them into repeats. According to NBC bigwigs, both late-night talk shows will not include jokes supplied by writers. They didn't elaborate on who will be writing material, but you'd think that the life-long comedian/hosts could help come up with a few minutes of fresh material each night. Critics have long speculated that the late-night programs have become less like talk shows and more like comedy shows in recent years, requiring more prepared material, and now show producers will be forced to change the format of the shows. (No complaints here.) NBC execs say the decision by Leno and O'Brien to cross the picket line is very similar to what happened in 1988, when Johnny Carson brought back the "Tonight" show two months into a writers' strike. "Both Jay and Conan have supported their writers during the first two months of this WGA (Writers Guild of America) strike and will continue to support them," an NBC exec told news reporters. "However, there are hundreds of people who will be able to return to work as a result of Jay's and Conan's decision." Don't be surprised if David Letterman announces he plans to cross picket lines as well. As I mentioned in a previous blog, the union representing striking writers said over the weekend that it was willing to negotiate deals with individual production companies, such as Letterman's Worldwide Pants. If you don't hear by the end of the day that Letterman plans to return with new shows come January then I'm sure the announcement will be made by the end of the week. You'll recall that Letterman, O'Brien, Leno and Jimmy Kimmel have been paying the salaries of non-writing staff members since the strike began on November 5th. NBC's other late night talk show hosted by Carson Daly returned with new material earlier this month. Meanwhile, there's been no word on whether Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central plans to return with new episodes come January. Related Articles: Ray of Hope Emerges for Striking Hollywood Writers The Continuing Writers Strike---What's Happening with Your Favorite Shows? The Writers Strike and Late-Night Talk Shows---THE BACKLASH! Writers Strike---Is There an End in Sight? Writers Strike Update--How Many New Episodes Are Left? Hollywood Writers' Strike---Week 3: Movie Alert Writers' Strike--Producers Hit Back Writers Strike Day 6--Let the Firings Begin Writers Strike Update: So Long to "The Office" and "24" Writers' Strike Hits "Desperate Housewives" How A Writers' Strike Could Affect Your Favorite TV Shows Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevantpopular culture tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags Conan O'brien, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, writer's strike Discuss this article
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