Leno, O’Brien to return Jan. 2
NEW YORK – NBC’s two late-night franchises are coming back. Will the laughs come with them?
Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien plan a Jan. 2 return with fresh episodes, ending two months of reruns brought on by the writers’ strike, the network said Monday. But until the strike is settled, the hosts will be on their own.
By forging ahead without joke writers, can late night TV keep from stepping on toes – and still be funny?
“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,” O’Brien said in a written statement. “Of course, my show will not be as good. In fact, in moments it may very well be terrible.”
Both NBC hosts indicated it was a tortuous decision, torn by their support for the writers and knowledge that several dozen other staff members would be laid off if the shows remained dark. Some of the late-night stars covered employees’ salaries during the holiday season.
Leno said that with talks breaking down and no further negotiations scheduled, he felt it was his responsibility to get his 100 nonwriting staff members back to work.
Mike Sweeney, chief of the “Late Night” staff of 14 writers, said, “We all know what a difficult position Conan is in. He’s been incredibly supportive of us.”
NBC’s announcement could make it easier for programs like Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” or “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC to return. Also, the WGA is talking about a separate deal with David Letterman’s production company so his CBS show can return with its writers.
The development could cut both ways for the union. Suspended late-night programming has been the most visible sign of the strike for the viewing public, and bringing the shows back could remove a significant piece of leverage. At the same time, the hosts could come back and pepper their network bosses with ridicule in support of the writers’ cause.
That’s what Johnny Carson did in 1988, when he similarly returned to the air after two months off during a writers’ strike. Carson worked without writers for three weeks, then reached a separate deal with the union to bring back his staff.
The networks have been suffering in the ratings without the live programming, giving ABC’s “Nightline” its biggest boost since the days of Ted Koppel.
Both Ross and Debbie Vickers, executive producer of “Tonight,” said they are beginning to contemplate how their shows will be different. It’s not even clear whether Leno will open with a traditional monologue, Vickers said, although she noted that Carson kept that element even without his writers by writing his own.
But Carson was not a guild member, whereas Leno and O’Brien are.
If Letterman’s Worldwide Pants production company strikes a separate deal, it raises the prospect of a Letterman show with its writers competing for a prolonged period against Leno without writers.