WIll they be as funny? Unlike Jon Stewart and David Letterman, who are negotiating to return with a waiver from writers, Leno and O’Brien will be back despite the strike, without writers or a waiver.

By Alex Ben Block

HOLLYWOOD, CA. (Hollywood Today) – 12/17/2007 – Citing the precedent of Johnny Carson’s return to the air during the 1988 strike, NBC said early Monday that Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien will both return without a net to the network’s late night lineup on January 2, 2008, even though the current strike by members of the Writers Guild of America continues and the show’s writing staffs will not return until there is a new contract. Jon Stewart and David Letterman are meanwhile in talks to go back on with their award-winning writers. 

“During the 1988 writers strike, Johnny Carson reluctantly returned to ‘The Tonight Show’ without his writers after two months. Both Jay and Conan have supported their writers during the first two months of this WGA strike and will continue to support them. However, there are hundreds of people who will be able to return to work as a result of Jay’s and Conan’s decision,” said Rick Ludwin, NBC’s Executive Vice President, Late Night & Primetime Series.

Leno said in a statement, “This has been a very difficult six weeks for everybody affected by the writers strike. I was, like most people, hoping for a quick resolution when this began. I remained positive during the talks and while they were still at the table discussing a solution “The Tonight Show” remained dark in support of our writing staff. Now that the talks have broken down and there are no further negotiations scheduled I feel it’s my responsibility to get my 100 non-writing staff, which were laid off, back to work. We fully support our writers and I think they understand my decision.”

Those hundreds will definitely not include the show’s writing staffs (Leno’s in Los Angeles and O’Briens in New York), who have been on strike since the WGA started its job action Nov. 5. As a result, it is unclear who will write jokes for the monologues, and who will write introductions and questions for guests, or provide any comedy bits to fill up the show. A spokesperson for NBC said she did not expect that they would hire any non-union or “scab” writers, but rather the producers and the hosts themselves will create the material they need or improvise as the situation demands.

Leno has been very supportive of the writers until now, but was under intense pressure to return. Leno had visited with pickets during the past two months and even brought along refreshments (donuts) for those who marched in front of studios and networks hour after hour. Leno had also reportedly paid out of his own pocket more than $500,000 in salaries and Christmas bonuses for about 100 staff members.

Conan O’Brien reportedly has also paid out of his pocket to cover the salaries of some 75 workers laid off from his show.

His comments on the strike and his nervous decision to return were extensiveL “For the past seven weeks of the writers’ strike, I have been and continue to be 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. Since the strike began, I have stayed off the air in support of the striking writers while, at the same time, doing everything I could to take care of the 80 non-writing staff members on Late Night,” O Brien said.

“Unfortunately, now with the New Year upon us, I am left with a difficult decision. Either go back to work and keep my staff employed or stay dark and allow 80 people, many of whom have worked for me for fourteen years, to lose their jobs. If my show were entirely scripted I would have no choice. But the truth is that shows like mine are hybrids, with both written and non-written content. An unwritten version of Late Night, though not desirable, is possible and no one has to be fired.

“So, it is only after a great deal of thought that I have decided to go back on the air on January 2nd. 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,” said Conan.

David Letterman, meanwhile, is said to be negotiating a deal for his company, Worldwide Pants, to get a waiver from the WGA, which would allow him to return to the air with their permission, and with his full corps of writers on board. The Letterman deal is expected to say that Worldwide Pants will accept whatever contract the WGA eventually negotiates, probably with retroactive pay and rules adjustments as needed. A deal by Worldwide Pants would include not just Letterman’s late night show but also “The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson,” which it also produces.

Letterman’s has been paying the salaries of laid off employees for his show and “The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson,” at a cost estimated to be about $300,000 a week. Letterman had promised to continue paying those salaries through the end of the year.

The return of Leno and O’Brien is seen as a blow to the writer’s guild because it means NBC will have back franchise shows that are not only popular, but also extremely lucrative. The ratings for The Tonight Show in repeats have fallen sharply from the usual levels, often dropping behind not only Letterman repeats but also ABC’s Nightline, which has seen the size of its audience grow steadily during the job action.

Rick Ludwin, head of NBC late night, said no attempt was made to get a waiver from the Writers Guild, as Letterman is doing. Debbie Vickers, exec producer of the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and Jeff Ross executive producer of Conan’s show, both said in a conference call that they have yet to book any guests for the shows when they return. It reamins unclear if actors will be willing to appear on the shows, especially if they are being picketed, as their own guilds, SAG and AFTRA, have been very supportive of the writers.

Letterman can do a separate deal with the WGA because his company is independent of the network; while Leno, O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel are on shows owned by the network itself, so there is no separate deal to be made.

There was no word on the fate of Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talker on ABC, but with the others coming back, he will be under pressure to return as well.

Last Call With Carson Daly returned to the air on NBC earlier in December. Daly is not a WGA member and had said that if he did not return, about 75 members of his staff would be forced out of work. There were also reports that Daly was told his show would be cancelled if he didn’t return, but the late night host denied that was accurate.

NBC said Monday that guest lineups will be announced at a later date.

“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” is from Big Dog Productions in association with GE/NBC Universal’s Universal Media Studios. Debbie Vickers is the executive producer.

“Late Night with Conan O’Brien” is from Universal Media Studios in association with New York-based Broadway Video. Lorne Michaels, who is best known as producer of “Saturday Night Live,” and Jeff Ross are executive producers.