David Letterman Returns With Writer Support
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Late Night, Talk Shows, ABC, Cable, CBS, NBC, Daily Show, The, News,
David Letterman has accomplished what no other late night host has managed to do: reach an agreement with the writers. Of course, owning your own company does have its perks.
Letterman and his production company, WorldWide Pants, have been sitting down with the Writers Guild for some time now in hopes of working out a deal. Late today, the two sides came to terms on an independent agreement that would allow both The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to come back on Jan. 2nd. Although the two talk shows will technically be competing with the returns of Leno, O’Brien and Kimmel, CBS will easily have the advantage. Letterman and Ferguson will be the only ones with the scripted jokes.
Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart will also be returning - sans writers - on January 7th.
Reuters
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Surprises in Store for Late Night TV
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Late Night, Cable, NBC, Daily Show, The, Gossip,
If you’ve attempted to watch TV at all in the last two months, you know there’s an active writers’ strike in the works. Despite the picket lines, lots of studios are “encouraging” their late night hosts to get back in the studio and back behind the desk.
Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Conan O’Brien (among others) all intend to bring their shows back to the air beginning in January - but this time, they’re doing it without their writers. When it comes to television, this action is very much like walking a tightrope in the circus…with no safety net.
The hosts are members of the Writers Guild themselves, meaning they’ll have to pass by their union brothers and sisters on their way to work every morning (or afternoon, as the case may be). This membership also means the hosts themselves must continue to follow union rules, and will be subject to the terms and conditions therein. For instance, monologues and talk segments (like Colbert’s The Word) may no longer be part of the program. So…what, then, will viewers see on late night in January? For one, you won’t be getting scripted segments.
Click to continue reading Surprises in Store for Late Night TV
Yahoo! News
Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart Return to Work
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Late Night, Talk Shows, ABC, Cable, CBS, NBC, Daily Show, The, Announcements, News,
Comedy Central has just announced the January return of its two late-night talk show hosts. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will ring in their new years on January 7th, five days after Kimmel, Leno and O’Brien have scheduled their starts. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report - like the ABC and NBC programs - will resume production sans writers. What this means for these ‘news’ shows and their largely scripted formats is unknown.
Stewart and Colbert, who are also members of the Writers Guild of America, released a joint statement about the decision:
’‘We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence.’‘
Meanwhile, we may get details later today about the plans for CBS’ late-night programs. David Letterman’s company, Worldwide Pants, will be meeting with members of the WGA today. If they can reach an interim agreement, both The Late Show With David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson could also be hitting the airwaves - with scribes - come January 2nd.
No matter how you feel about the writers’ situation, what do you think about The Daily Show and The Colbert Report returning? Could they possibly be as good as they were pre-strike—or do you think the quality will suffer? Will you simply be happy to see them back regardless of the content?
Variety
Jimmy Kimmel Joins Late Night Returns
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Late Night, Talk Shows, ABC, CBS, NBC, News,
ABC has announced the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live, effective Jan. 2nd. The talk show will air new episodes the same evening The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O’Brien also start anew. Despite their support of the WGA, all three hosts hope their participation can prevent other job losses.
Although an official announcement has not yet been made, CBS may soon be seeing a spark of life in late-night as well. David Letterman and his company, Worldwide Pants, are hoping to broker an independent deal with the union. This could allow his program and the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to return with their normal writers in tow.
Hollywood Reporter
The Return of Late Night TV…Sort Of
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Late Night, Talk Shows, CBS, NBC, News,
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.
Entertainment Weekly
Alternatives For Late Night TV
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Late Night, Reality, Talk Shows, Cable, FX, MTV, Editorial,
It’s only been a full work week since Hollywood’s writers went on strike, and already it seems the days of great late night talk programs are long gone. The last time the writer’s guild went on strike, it lasted an agonizingly long 22 weeks. Without Colbert, Stewart, Letterman and Leno, how is American supposed to get its satirical, tongue-in-cheek twists on current events?
With a shortage of new scripts and a hiatus of many major shows, more Americans are now channel-surfing to find an entertainment fix. What they’ll find is a mishmash of reality TV - those wonderfully unscripted programs that are always there in the event of a script shortage. Channels like Travel, Discovery, Animal Planet and the Food Network are largely unaffected by the strike, though how MTV (and channels like it) will continue with their staged reality programs is anyone’s guess.
Instead of watching repeats on network TV, turn to these cable channels as the midnight hour approaches. Animal Planet, the Discovery Channel, E!, FX, The History Channel, and VH1 are among those still offering brand-new episodes. It’s better than re-runs.
MSNBC
Late Night Mix-Up
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Late Night, Reality, Talk Shows, NBC, Rumors,
It all started when long-running NBC darling Jay Leno said he was going to retire. The Tonight Show, currently enjoying its fifty-second season on the network, is a show that’s obviously bigger than any one man. So NBC execs immediately started casting about for Leno’s replacement. Early rumors linked Conan O’Brien’s name to the late night variety/talk show, leaving a hosting hole wide open on O’Brien’s gig. Jimmy Fallon became the heir apparent, and Leno’s retirement (not scheduled, by the way, until 2009) seemed a done deal. But now, Jay just might be changing his mind. Sources purporting to be close to the situation say Leno doesn’t want to go, and NBC has answered the rumor. The network says it wants to stick with Leno, and has no intention of giving the show to O’Brien (and collectively, we can all say “whew”). The network is anxious to keep Conan on his regular late gig, which doesn’t bode too well for Fallon’s career.
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| Yahoo News
More Vanessa Hudgens Photos Released
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Kids, Late Night, Music, Cable, NBC, Gossip,
As we reported earlier, Vanessa Hudgens canceled a scheduled appearance on The Tonight Show yesterday. While it was safe to assume she was still embarrassed about her infamous nudie pic, it turns out she may have been reacting to another round of photos altogether.
Former friends everywhere have been opening up their shoeboxes and sharing their favorite stills of the High School Musical star. The latest ones released yesterday, reminiscent of the racy photos Lindsay Lohan took with Vanessa Minnillo, at least have her fully clothed this time. One photo shows Vanessa almost connecting tongues with another girlfriend while a second apparently shows her touching a friend’s breast.
We can only hope Disney was apprised of all her photos before they issued their (weak) statement of support; I don’t imagine they will stop coming out of the woodwork anytime soon.
(Click here for any updates on this story)
Read More | NY Daily News
Vanessa Hudgens Bails on Leno
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Late Night, Talk Shows, NBC, Gossip, Rumors,
You had to figure it would take a little time for seemingly wholesome Vanessa Hudgens to make an interview appearance after the recent nudie pic that was circulating online. She was scheduled to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight, but has bagged the appearance. Of course, there’s no reason cited for the cancelled gig and no comment from her rep, but we can all pretty much connect the dots, don’tcha think? Apparently, she’s not ready to face the music and come clean to Leno. Maybe Ellen or the ladies of The View would make the subject a little bit easier to approach? Not like Leno will go for the jugular or anything, but obviously some questions need to be asked given the recent scandal. Huh. Makes you wonder if Rob Schneider, who filled in when Lindsay Lohan bailed on her Leno appearance, will show up doing his best Hudgens impression.
Read More | People.com
Letterman Gets Four More Years
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Late Night, Talk Shows, CBS, NBC, Renewals,
David Letterman has reached an agreement with ABC that will keep the late-night host around for four more years. His contract extension keeps Dave on the Late Show through the 2009-2010 season. Interestingly enough, this is one year past the plan for Leno to step down from the Tonight Show and pass the torch to Conan O’Brien. According to Nielsen Media Research, Leno continues to be the ratings winner, averaging 5.71 million viewers nightly, versus 4.16 million per night for Letterman. The rivalry has been ongoing since Leno took over Johnny Carson’s post on the Tonight Show—and it looks like the competition will now continue against O’Brien. CBS Entertainment and Letterman spokespeople had no comment about the negotiations since the deal is not official yet. Even after all these years, I still prefer Letterman to Leno—Leno is more corny than anything, but Letterman’s goofy persona wins me over. Goofy beats corny in my book any day, but what to do when Letterman and O’Brien go head to head? Two goofs—don’t make me choose!
Read More | Yahoo! News
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