strike zone

Writerless Late Shows Officially Out of Guests

Photo Illustration: Getty Images, Courtesy of NBC

With most good film and TV stars wary of crossing WGA picket lines to appear on writerless late-night shows, the Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live are finding it increasingly difficult to book decent guests (on Kimmel tonight will be Kathy Griffin, Scott Baio, and Velvet Revolver, by the way). Having already hoodwinked poor Mike Huckabee into thinking he would be on a show with writers, where’s Jay Leno to turn? Fortunately, traffic in Los Angeles is never a problem, so on Thursday Kimmel will travel to Burbank to be a guest on the Tonight Show and later Leno will make his way to Hollywood to sit on Kimmel’s couch. By contrast, the WGA-sanctioned Letterman this week will host Tom Hanks, Morgan Freeman, Lucy Liu, and the Vulture-endorsed Huckabee.

Also, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will return to air tonight without their writers, and both are expected to cry directly into the camera for the duration of their shows.

Leno, Kimmel to Go on Each Other’s Shows [AP]
Earlier: So, How Important Are Writers, Anyway?

Writerless Late Shows Officially Out of Guests