Conan & Leno Returning to TV…But Why?
December 17, 2007 by Kath Skerry
Fans of late night TV will be happy to know that come January 2nd LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O’BRIEN and THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO will be back on NBC late night with all new episodes. After being on a hiatus for the past two months due to the WGA strike, Conan and Jay are returning to their desks sans writers. No, the strike isn’t over but the late night chatters are opting to return rather than layoff their staff.
Unfortunately, now with the New Year upon us, I am left with a difficult decision,” O’Brien said. “Either go back to work and keep my staff employed, or stay dark, and allow 80 people, many of whom have worked for me for 14 years, to lose their jobs,” O’Brien’s statement read. “An unwritten version of Late Night, though not desirable, is possible— and no one has to be fired.”
Word of Jay and Conan returning comes on the heels of the announcement that David Letterman was seeking a waiver from the WGA to return to his show, with his writers in tow. Letterman can conduct independent negotiations with CBS (and not the AMPTP) to bring THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN back to TV soon because unlike Leno and O’Brien, Letterman owns his show outright through his Worldwide Pants company.
So late night TV is poised to be back on January 2nd. Expect word from Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Ferguson soon.
What About the Strike?…
I’m all for people going back to work and not losing their jobs, but doesn’t it feels to me like these talk show hosts are giving in to the AMPTP a little? I mean, nothing has changed in terms of negotiations between the WGA and the AMPTP so what is so different for Leno and Conan? I understand that they don’t need writers to continue, but they didn’t need writers the first day of the strike either, right? If they went dark out of solidarity to their writers then wouldn’t going back on air when nothing has changed with the negotiations mean they were no longer behind their writers?
Of course I’m playing a bit of devil’s advocate here. I personally don’t believe that Conan, Jay or Dave don’t support their writers or that they no longer believe in the WGA efforts. But the question still remains the same.
And I have to wonder if the WGA are going to protest Conan and Jay like they did Ellen DeGeneres and Carson Daly. They did nothing different in returning to work…they just chose to do it earlier.
I’m happy to have late night TV back, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I think it does nothing but hurt the WGA efforts.
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The return of Conan and Jay Leno is definitely a real disappointment. But if Dave gets his own interim agreement (not a waiver, but his own, individually negotiated agreement wtih the WGA), it will be a huge, huge victory for the strikers. First, Dave will have shown that what the WGA is asking for can’t be that costly if a small production company can handle it. A negotiated agreement will make the AMPTP look like they’re the ones stalling, not the WGA. Plus, Dave will have the advantage of a much better show than the NBC-ers, because his writers will be back writing funny stuff, and stars who refuse to cross picket lines or participate in struck shows will be able to get on his show while Jay and Conan flounder. This is really great news, and it shows that the WGA is thinking creatively and making some seriously sweet lemonade out of the NBC lemons.
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Yes, R.B. – I do agree with you that Letterman’s independent deal could be a huge win for the WGA. I do wonder if his Worldwide Pants company could also extend this same negotiation to his other TV shows.
I didn’t write too much on Dave’s negotiations because I don’t know many of the details.
Again, I don’t want people to think that I’m for the staff of Leno and Conan to be out of work, I want EVERYONE to go back to work. I’m just worried about the message it sends.
I understand what you mean about it possibly sending the wrong message with regard to the strike. At the same time Conan, Dave, Jay, and whoever else might return, have to also deal with the reality that they are responsible for all their other staff as well, not just the writers.
I just hope that the two sides get back to negotiations soon after the New Year so we don’t have to worry about the late night shows being without writers for too long! (And to get all our other shows back soon too!)
While I think it would be great to have Letterman on the air, if you really want the writers to get theirs, a separate deal with Dave has the very real potential to torpedo the process. Strikers have splintered over much less than that. If a group (small as it is) gets their own deal, it could lead to everyone negotiating on their own, basically blowing up the WGA.
Does anyone else get the feeling this is a little like the hockey strike from a couple years ago? For those that don’t know, the negotiator for the hockey players was later determined to be in way over his head and after basically losing a season, the players wound up getting a worse deal than they were initially offered because a good number of them were living paycheck to paycheck and needed the money. When the WGA making one of their demands that the reality and animation writers be included (which those groups voted against and is probably illegal), my mind started equating their negotiation with that hockey strike.
While I think it would be great to have Letterman on the air, if you really want the writers to get theirs, a separate deal with Dave has the very real potential to torpedo the process. Strikers have splintered over much less than that. If a group (small as it is) gets their own deal, it could lead to everyone negotiating on their own, basically blowing up the WGA.
Does anyone else get the feeling this is a little like the hockey strike from a couple years ago? For those that don’t know, the negotiator for the hockey players was later determined to be in way over his head and after basically losing a season, the players wound up getting a worse deal than they were initially offered because a good number of them were living paycheck to paycheck and needed the money. With the WGA making one of their demands that the reality and animation writers be included (which those groups had previously voted against and is probably illegal), my mind started equating their negotiation with that hockey strike.
GMMR,
With regard to WWP’s other shows, rumor is that the Letterman deal will cover Craig Ferguson’s show too. That will be the best thing ever for Craig, who is usually well behind Conan on ratings.
Jeff,
I find it hard to believe that a big contingent of writers will feel angry that the WWP writers will return. Most of the reaction seems to be absolute pleasure, and hope that this might lead to a breakthrough once NBC starts feeling the pressure. Perhaps the best indication comes from CBS, which felt the need to issue a press release saying they felt united with the rest of the AMPTP no matter what WWP does. If CBS is worried that they’re making the AMPTP look bad, then that can’t be anything but good for the WGA.
As for reality and animation, there’s an enormous amount of blogosphere talk about how badly the reality and animation writers want to be part of the WGA. Why would they not want health insurance, in the case of reality, or residuals, in the case of animation? Current labor law makes it perfectly legal for the WGA to ask for them to be covered. While it might not be a “mandatory” subject of bargaining (i.e. the WGA can’t strike over this issue alone) it definitely is a “permissive” one (totally appropriate for negotiations).
I’m glad the blue collar workers of both shows won’t be losing their jobs. The show can go on without writers and ppl shouldn’t lose their jobs just to be a pawn for a doomed strike.
I find it interesting to see talk of targeting one group of writers, since here is the other side of the coin:
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/wga-says-lets-make-an-individual-deal/
I really, really want Ben Silverman to step forward and be reasonable.
Of course these men support the writers; Jay and Conan are members of the WGA. Nevertheless, we know that the writers are suffering through the holiday season without work. Conan and Jay don’t want this to happen to any other member of their staff. Rather than looking at this situation individually, they are looking realistically at the big picture.
They are not trying to go against everything that the WGA has worked for; they are crossing picket lines for the good of their staff.
I agree that they are going back to work for the good of the staff and I commend them for this, but my question still remains…why was Carson Daly condemned and protested by the WGA just in the past two weeks for doing the SAME exact thing. And again, the same goes for Ellen DeGeneres,