The TV Zone

The new king of late night - "Nightline's" Martin Bashir

I almost hesitate to offer this small ray of hope in the midst of the increasingly bitter writers' strike - late yesterday, the Writers Guild filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the Big Bad Studios - but it does now appear that the late night hosts will be back early January.

That's the word in a Variety story this morning, and there's absolutely every reason in the world to believe it. The hosts - or at least their reps - have been hinting for weeks at a return, and my theory is this: They float these proposals to see how vigorously the striking writers fire back. Carson Daly got a mouthful of bile when he announced he was coming back, but we haven't heard much from the anti-Daly camp lately (and he's even gonna host NBC's New years' telecast...) Also, no host really wants to be the first to go back - they'd prefer their competitor return, giving them an excuse to return as well.

Former kings of late night

Another reason: Hosts are paying their staffs through the end of the year, but such largess can only go so far - even for multimillionaires.

Here's one more compelling reason: "Nightline" - yes, "Nightline" - is soundly beating both "Tonight" and "Late Show." It's pushing four million viewers, or half a million over "Tonight" and nearly a million over "Late Show." "NL's" total viewers are up a whopping 16 percent over this time last year - and growing. "NL" hasn't enjoyed such dominance in at least a decade and even then it was fleeting - dependent on the press of news events and the like - but clearly viewers are looking for news or simply alternatives to repeats. That's ominous for the late night entertainment guys who are as dependent on current affairs as "NL."

One more thing: If they return, that represents the first massive crack in the writers' alliance. A deal - and perhaps one not entirely favorable to their camp - might not be terribly far behind.