News > Update: NBC Hosts to Return on Jan. 2
December 18, 2007
Written by David Morgan
Apologies for most of the recent news here being about late night talk show hosts, but with the strike on, there's little other fodder out there.
reports that Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien will return to their desks on January 2nd, without their writers. Each issued separate statements as to their reasons for returning after two months on the picket lines.
O'Brien said, "The truth is that shows like mine are hybrids, with both written and nonwritten content. An unwritten version of Late Night, though not desirable, is possible -- and no one has to be fired."
Leno: "Now that the talks have broken down and there are no further negotiations scheduled, I feel it's my responsibility to get my 100 nonwriting staff, which were laid off, back to work. We fully support our writers and I think they understand my decision."
This move echoes Johnny Carson's return to The Tonight Show without his writers in 1988, after six weeks of striking.
Producers of both shows are nervous as to whether or not major celebrities will be willing to appear on these shows while the political atmosphere is still what it is. Also, while Carson was permitted to write his own monologues back in 1988, WGA members today (which Leno and O'Brien are) are not permitted to perform any writing of regular bits or characters whatsoever. So technically, monologues and sketches are forbidden.
O'Brien: "I will make clear, on the program, my support for the writers, and I'll do the best version of Late Night I can under the circumstances. Of course, my show will not be as good. In fact, in moments it may very well be terrible. My sincerest hope is that all of my writers are back soon, working under a contract that provides them everything they deserve. [I've been] an ardent supporter of the WGA and their cause. My career in television started as a WGA member and my subsequent career as a performer has only been possible because of the creativity and integrity of my writing staff.
His head writer Mike Sweeney said that O'Brien had been very supportive of his writing staff and that he and his writers understood the boss' motivations. Speculating on what Late Night will be like without writers, "I'm assuming there will be a lot more guests. Maybe they'll have people with interesting coin collections on, I'm not sure."
