Leno, Conan Eye January Return

Reuters
Posted: 2007-12-14
Filed Under: TV News (http://television.aol.com/news)

LOS ANGELES (Dec. 14) - Idled television talk-show hosts Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien are likely to return to work in early January, even if the Hollywood writers strike is not settled by then, Daily Variety reported in its Friday edition.

Most of the late-night shows have been airing reruns since the Writers Guild of America went out on strike for the first time in almost two decades Nov 5.

NBC stars Leno and O'Brien, along with CBS's David Letterman and Craig Ferguson, and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel refused to cross the picket lines in deference to their writers. But their ratings have suffered.

The networks laid off the shows' production staff, although most of them are still receiving pay checks thanks to the personal largess of O'Brien, Letterman and Kimmel.

Letterman's production company also produces Ferguson's show.

With no end in sight to the strike, several hosts are nearing the conclusion that it's time to return, Daily Variety said, citing unidentified sources close to the situation.

The trade paper said Leno, O'Brien, Letterman and Ferguson may all return around the same time, but that the NBC duo was "most likely to return in early January" no matter what Letterman decides. Some late-night observers believe Kimmel may also be preparing to go back soon, Daily Variety said.

On the other hand, with none of the hosts eager to be the first to return to work and risk the union's ire, Daily Variety said the hosts may yet still decide to stay home.

When the guild last went on strike, for 22 weeks in 1988, Leno's predecessor Johnny Carson returned to work about two months into the stoppage, and Letterman followed him more than a month later.

Officials from the networks were not immediately available for comment. NBC is a unit of General Electric Co's NBC Universal. CBS is a unit of CBS Corp. ABC is a unit of Walt Disney Co.

Let's hope!!

It would be nice to have them back, but not at the expense of the writers strike. I just think that the hosts will have a difficult time betraying their writers by crossing the picket line.

It states that Letterman and Carson did back in 1988. That surprises me.

from what I herd Nightline is winning the 10:35 pm Time show witch is against David Letterman and Jay Leno

It would be nice to have them back, but not at the expense of the writers strike. I just think that the hosts will have a difficult time betraying their writers by crossing the picket line.


i really respect the fact they are respecting their writers!!!!

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3id192e882e824aeba20ac3d7a4a6055d4 (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3id192e882e824aeba20ac3d7a4a6055d4)

Pants wrinkle: WGA may OK 'Letterman' return

The writers for CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" may be the first to return to work through a deal Letterman's independent production company Worldwide Pants is negotiating with the WGA.

The pact would allow the late-night show to come back on the air with its entire staff, including scribes, intact.

The news was first reported Saturday by The New York Times.

"We respect the intent of Worldwide Pants to serve the interests of its independent production company and its employees by seeking this interim agreement with the WGA," CBS spokesman Chris Ender said in a statement Saturday. "However, this development should not confuse the fact that CBS remains unified with the AMPTP and committed to working with the member companies to reach a fair and reasonable agreement with the WGA that positions everyone in our industry for success in a rapidly changing marketplace."

The late-night shows had been expected to resume production after the holidays following the Dec. 7 breakdown in the negotiations between the WGA and AMPTP that dashed hopes for a speedy resolution to the writers strike.


The late-night talkers have been hurt hard by the strike. Since they went into repeats the very first day of the as the writers walkout, their ratings have taken a hit. Additionally, the show's hosts have been paying the salaries of their nonwriting staff out of their own pockets.

Letterman, who was the first to begin writing checks to crew members of "Late Show" and "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson," is in a unique position as his company Worldwide Pants, not CBS, owns the two shows.

The other late-night shows, including NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" as well as ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel" are fully or partially owned by the respective networks.

So, if the strike continues into 2008 as expected, those shows would return on the air without their writers and surrounded by picketers, making it hard for them to book guests. That would put them at a great disadvantage to the CBS shows if Worldwide Pants inks a deal with the WGA.

Worldwide Pants' individual talks with the WGA may be a precursor to a new strategy in the WGA's negotiation strategy. The guild is expected to begin approaching individual CEOs at the respective major studios and other AMPTP companies in the hope of finding one or more who will break ranks with the management group.

"We want to do everything in our power to move negotiations forward and end this devastating strike," guild negotiators told members in a weekend email. "We have therefore decided to reach out to major AMPTP companies and begin to negotiate with them individually."

The WGA negotiators noted their legal right to pursue such a strategy, and the strategy seemed to notch a quick, if narrow, win for the guild with the pending deal with Worldwide Pants.

AMPTP spokesman Jesse Hiestand dismissed the WGA's direct-to-companies maneuver in a statement issued Saturday.

"This is merely the latest indication that the WGA organizers are grasping for straws and have never had a coherent strategy for engaging in serious negotiations," Hiestand said. "The AMPTP may have different companies with different assets in different businesses, but they are all unified in one common goal -- to reach an agreement with writers that positions everyone in our industry for success in a rapidly changing marketplace."

Observers give the guild only long-shot odds at success in attempting to disrupt negotiating solidarity among the major studios and broadcast networks. But it will bear watching if additional smaller production companies come aboard with narrowly sketched WGA agreements.

After seeing what happened to Ellen back when she decided to return, I can just imagine the s***storm with Leno and O'Brien that'll come.

I went to Subway on my lunch break and saw on the TV there (I think it was CNN) that Jay and Conan are scheduled to return on January 2. Remember what happened to Carson Daly when he tried to cross the lines?? :eek: I predict it'll be 10x worse for Jay and Conan.

Leno and Conan are returning without writers:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/blog/2007/12/day-43-wgas-strike-ns-247-launch.html

has a talk show ever come back because of a Writes Strike befor.

This is pretty much *exactly* what Letterman and Johnny did in the late 80s during the last strike.

Leno and Conan are returning without writers:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/blog/2007/12/day-43-wgas-strike-ns-247-launch.html
Awesome!

I know that everyone will be glad that Jay Leno and Conan O'Briean is Returning
on Wednesday, Janurary 7, 2008

Where's the outrage against Leno and Conan? Ellen was strung up. Am I missing something?

Yeah found out yesterday that leno will return on jan 2nd. My 11:30pm TV watching time as been HORRIBLE