Seriously? OMG! WTF? » Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien offically coming back on January 2nd!
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[ # ] Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien offically coming back on January 2nd!
December 17th, 2007 under Talk Shows, WGA Strike

As expected NBC made the announcement today that Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien will return to their shows on January 2nd!
After two months of repeats, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" will resume broadcasting all-new episodes beginning Wednesday, January 2, 2008 (11:35 p.m., 12:35 a.m., respectively).

The late night shows suspended production due to the strike by the Writers Guild of America on November 5 and have aired repeats since.

"During the 1988 writers strike, Johnny Carson reluctantly returned to 'The Tonight Show' without his writers after two months. Both Jay and Conan have supported their writers during the first two months of this WGA strike and will continue to support them. However, there are hundreds of people who will be able to return to work as a result of Jay's and Conan's decision," said Rick Ludwin, Executive Vice President, Late Night & Primetime Series. 

I am glad that late night is slowly returning, now if only Jimmy Kimmel would come back it would make Christmas a little more special!
UPDATE 1: No news on Kimmel as of now. 
UPDATE 2: Both Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien have released statements via NBC:
Jay Leno: 
"This has been a very difficult six weeks for everybody affected by the writers strike. I was, like most people, hoping for a quick resolution when this began. I remained positive during the talks and while they were still at the table discussing a solution "The Tonight Show" remained dark in support of our writing staff. Now that the talks have broken down and there are no further negotiations scheduled I feel it's my responsibility to get my 100 non-writing staff, which were laid off, back to work. We fully support our writers and I think they understand my decision." 
Conan O'Brien:
"For the past seven weeks of the writers' strike, I have been and continue to be an ardent supporter of the WGA and their cause. My career in television started as a WGA member and my subsequent career as a performer has only been possible because of the creativity and integrity of my writing staff. Since the strike began, I have stayed off the air in support of the striking writers while, at the same time, doing everything I could to take care of the 80 non-writing staff members on Late Night.

Unfortunately, now with the New Year upon us, I am left with a difficult decision. 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 fourteen years, to lose their jobs. If my show were entirely scripted I would have no choice. But the truth is that shows like mine are hybrids, with both written and non-written content. An unwritten version of Late Night, though not desirable, is possible – and no one has to be fired.

So, it is only after a great deal of thought that I have decided to go back on the air on January 2nd. I will make clear, on the program, my support for the writers and I'll do the best version of Late Night I can under the circumstances. Of course, my show will not be as good. In fact, in moments it may very well be terrible. My sincerest hope is that all of my writers are back soon, working under a contract that provides them everything they deserve."

I respect them for coming back and thinking of the other staff. They have supported the writers as long as they can, but now they have to think of the rest of their staff and the fans…and the ratings. 
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