WGA Strike Break: Letterman Makes a Deal

Finally, a break in the strike. David Letterman’s coming back with his writers.

The New York Times is reporting that Letterman’s company Worldwide Pants, which owns both The Late Show and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, has negotiated a deal with the WGA that will allow him to return both shows to the air on Wednesday, Jan 2, with their writing staffs intact. This means they’ll also be able to book any guest they want, because actors won’t have to cross picket lines to appear on the shows.

Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien are returning on the same day, without their writers. The question now is thus: Will people tune in for quality programming with Letterman, or will they rubberneck at the trainwreck that will be the writerless shows. A writerless Leno without his usual boring punchlines might actually stand a chance of being funny again, like he used to be early in his sand-up career.