Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien will be returning to work directly after the holidays, with new episodes scheduled to air Wednesday, January 2. They’ll be bringing late night entertainment back to TV, something that’s been sorely missing since the writer’s strike started.

An NBC spokesperson said that Leno and O’Brien still support their writers, but by returning to work will give hundreds of people the chance to do their jobs. Of course, the late night variety programs will go on the air sans writers, so there’s no telling what fans will get. Currently, no guests have been announced for either program.

Meanwhile, David Letterman and his company, Worldwide Pants, are hoping to broker a deal with the WGA.  If the parties can work out an arrangement independent of the dispute with the producers, the Late Show with David Letterman and the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson could soon also be returning with writers.