Jacob Ant
Late-night television is on the brink of a revival, with prominent programs such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Late Night with Seth Meyers are poised to make a comeback.
This positive development comes after a preliminary agreement was reached on Sunday between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). These late-night shows are expected to be among the first to resume production, alongside various daytime talk shows.
Writers for these programs had ceased their work since early May, making the late-night sector one of the initial casualties of the television industry due to labor disputes. Insiders are optimistic that these shows could return to the airwaves shortly after the official end of the strike, allowing writing and production teams to swiftly get back on track.
However, it’s important to note that actors remain on strike under SAG-AFTRA, so we shouldn’t expect a flood of celebrity guests on these shows in the near future. Additionally, The Daily Show faces unique challenges following Trevor Noah’s departure and a series of guest hosts.
Moreover, CBS is facing a decision regarding the future of its 12:30 a.m. time slot after James Corden’s departure from The Late Late Show, which was temporarily replaced by a reboot of @midnight, currently lacking a host.
Bill Maher initially announced his return to Real Time on HBO on September 22 but later reversed his decision as negotiations between WGA and AMPTP resumed.
The return of these shows will offer much-needed relief to the thousands of industry workers who have been unemployed and largely unpaid for several months.
One noteworthy aspect of this situation is the camaraderie among the current late-night hosts. Colbert, Kimmel, Fallon, and Meyers have been running a podcast called Strike Force Five during the strike, which is a stark contrast to the tense relationships among their predecessors during the 2008 strike.
