The TV Zone

The boys are back...

In the biggest development in the writers' strike in nearly two months, both "Tonight Show" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" are set to break ranks and return to the airwaves January 2.

In a lengthy statement released a few minutes ago, Conan had this to say:

"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 on-writing staff members on Late Night.

"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."

And...here's Jay's statement, seconds old:

"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."

In announcing the return of both programs, Rick Ludwin - NBC's top exec in charge of late night - said: "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."

The move to get Jay/Conan back on the air slightly trumps Dave (see below) who publicly entered into negotiations with the Writers Guild of America to seek a waiver that would allow him to return shortly too. (Expect a Letterman announcement for a Jan. 2 return any second now.) To break the impasse with the producers (AMPTP), the Guild said it would allow individual writer/producers to enter into negotiations with their carriage network, or production studio. As owner of Worldwide Pants, Letterman clearly was in the most obvious position to move forward; because "Tonight" and "Late Night" are NBC properties, it's unlikely either Conan/Jay could seek a such a waiver. Indeed, O'Brien's statement suggests his hand was simply forced by NBC, and the network - in fact - has been playing hardball with both, by threatening to fire staffers and by publicly musing about the possibility of guest hosts at the helm of both shows. Meanwhile, both Jay and Conan were digging into their own pockets to pay their staffers through the end of the year.

Dave's "waiver" will allow him to return to the air with a writing staff; Jay/Conan will likely be flying solo.

The move's certainly good for fans - living with repeats since November 5 - and good for politicians and movie producers too, all of whom depend on the late night guys. But for the Writers Guild? That's hard to gauge. The late night talkers aren't necessarily tied to the key issue that thousands of striking writers are - residuals from the Internet. Moreover, with the late night shows back on the air, the producers can argue that the united front of the writers has now been shattered. It'd be hard to argue with that point.