As predicted here, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien will be returning to their late night shows even earlier than the theoretical date announced for David Letterman. I just received this press release from NBC…
BURBANK — December 17, 2007 – After two months of repeats, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" will resume broadcasting all-new episodes beginning Wednesday, January 2, 2008 (11:35 p.m., 12:35 a.m., respectively).
The late night shows suspended production due to the strike by the Writers Guild of America on November 5 and have aired repeats since.
"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, Executive Vice President, Late Night & Primetime Series.
Guest lineups for the shows will be announced at a later date.
If I were Leno and O'Brien, I think I'd be pissed at that line about it being their decisions. And if I were a celeb that either show wanted to book for the first few weeks back — especially the first night — I think I'd find another way to get on television.
But it's good to know that Jay and Conan will continue to support the WGA strike. I think that means passing out doughnuts to the strikers as they cross their picket lines.