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Letterman reaches deal with show writers

A man walks past the Ed Sullivan theater where the Late Show with David Letterman is taped in New York on Nov. 6. PHOTO: EPA

Striking writers, at an impasse with Hollywood film and television studios, reached a separate agreement with David Letterman to bring his show back to CBS on Wednesday.

The accord allows writers to go back to work on the late-night talk show, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Letterman's New York-based Worldwide Pants production company said yesterday in separate statements. Letterman and Craig Ferguson, whose show is also produced by Worldwide Pants, will be the only hosts to come back with their writers.

By making a separate deal, Letterman gains an edge over rival Jay Leno, who resumes production without his writing staff. NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien as well as Walt Disney Co's Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, are scheduled to return on Wednesday. The shows went into reruns on Nov. 5 when entertainment writers went on strike over compensation for their work used on the Internet.

"It does put some pressure on the other late-night programs, which are now disadvantaged," said Jonathan Handel, a Los Angeles-based entertainment attorney with the firm TroyGould, who once did legal work for the WGA. "What they're hoping here is that Leno is then going to put pressure on NBC Universal."

The Letterman agreement won't be enough to force NBC to break from the other studios and return to the bargaining table though. "NBC Universal is a lot bigger than Jay Leno," Handel said.

Letterman's company agreed to the same proposals that WGA was prepared to present to studios before talks broke down on Dec. 7, the WGA said.

"This is not a solution to the strike," Letterman said in his statement. "But I hope it will be seen as a step in the right direction."

The studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said the agreement with Worldwide Pants shows the union's organizers may not have the strength to reach an industrywide pact, according to a statement released yesterday.

Letterman, a guild member for more than 30 years, will be able to deliver a show similar to those before the strike with scripted monologues and his well-known "Top Ten" lists because he will have his full writing staff. Leno, whose show airs at the same time, won't be able to do any writing or perform any work that would normally be composed by the writers.

"It's time for NBC Universal to step up to the plate and negotiate a companywide deal that will put Jay Leno, who has supported our cause from the beginning, back on the air with his writers," the Writers Guild said in a statement.

Writers plan to picket at NBC Studios and at Tonight Show tapings from Jan. 2 to Jan. 4, WGA spokesman Gregg Mitchell said.

The WGA hopes more companies will come forward for negotiations Michael Winship, president of the East Coast arm of the guild, said yesterday in a statement.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report will resume on Friday without striking writers, Viacom Inc's Comedy Central network said last week.

Letterman began paying out-of-pocket for his staff's salaries when writers walked off the job.
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