Late Show UK

Reruns this week due to the US writers strike

Monday 24th December - Pre-empted
Tuesday 25th December - Cate Blanchett, Jay Thomas, Darlene Love * (Rerun)
Wednesday 26th December - Will Smith, Evanescence (Rerun)
Thursday 27th December - Howard Stern, Gwen Stefani (Rerun)
Friday 28th December - Alec Baldwin, Shakira (Rerun)

* Christmas Special that first aired December 2006

The Late Show is back on UK TV screens on new channel, Diva TV - Available on Virgin Media channel 192 and Sky Digital channel 282 - Letterman is shown at 9pm weeknights and reruns on Saturdays and Sundays at 11pm. Diva TV shows it on a delay - which varies - so check the “Upcoming Shows” box at the top right of the sidebar for Diva TV schedules (listings on the “Guest Listings” pages are US airdates).

Just a quick pointer to something James told me about a while back that I’ve only just remembered to post up here - a website called Late Night Underground, which is run by official Late Night staffers. It’s well worth checking out - there’s videos (some include Conan and other staffers) and random musings from the Late Night team. Just head on over to www.latenightunderground.com and join in the fun (it’ll keep us amused until the show returns in January). Also, not forgetting the Late Night With Conan O’Brien official blog over at NBC.com - this hasn’t been updated since the writing staff got laid off though, but a lot of random bits and pieces related to Conan (just search through the archives on there). The Late Night blog is available at blog.nbc.com/latenight.

The Broadcasting & Cable website is now reporting there’s a likely return date for the Late Show With David Letterman. The writers strike continues, but most of the late night US chat shows are to return to the air whilst it rolls on. We reported yesterday that Leno and Conan were planning on coming back with new shows on NBC starting from the 2nd January (without writers), and that Letterman would be back as well, but a date was not known for certain. Now it seems Letterman will be returning with new episodes on the 2nd January as well (but he’s hoping to have his writers back as well). In addition to this, the Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson is expected to return on the same night.

No news has been revealed about when to expect new episodes of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, but it’s thought they won’t return until the writers strike is over (Multichannel News website article here). I hope The Tony Mendez Show returns to CBS.com when the Late Show comes back in January - I would assume it will return at the same time (although Tony may be on the picket lines, so perhaps not). The Broadcasting & Cable website says “David Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants, targeted Jan. 2 for the return of its two late-night shows, The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. But while late-night hosts Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel plan to resurface the same night, sans writers, Letterman’s shows plan to return with their writing staffs intact”. Digital Spy also has some news on “reaching agreements with individual producers”.

The return of the Late Show is not a moment too soon - here’s a message from Late Show Videotape Operator Tom Catusi (from the Late Show Writers On Strike YouTube channel) - it looks like it’s been snowing in New York;

B&C - “WGA STRIKE UPDATE: Letterman, Ferguson Target Jan. 2 Return”
Multichannel News - “Comedy Central: No Call Yet On Stewart, Colbert Returns”
Late Show Writers On Strike - Official Website
YouTube - Late Show Writers On Strike
Digital Spy - “WGA seeks to bypass AMPTP”

Good news - Late Night With Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and the Late Show With David Letterman will all be back on our TV screens with brand new shows in January. An article on the BBC News website says “US talk show hosts Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien have vowed to resume recording their shows in January - despite their writers being on strike”, and (as we posted yesterday) David Letterman has been negotiating a deal between his production company Worldwide Pants and the WGA.

Showbiz website Perez Hilton says “NBC is expected to announce today that both Leno and O’Brien will be back on the air by January 2nd, although they’ll be coming back without writers”. Perez Hilton even goes as far as saying Dave “should could be back on the air in a matter of days” - so we might get that Christmas Special after all. Conan O’Brien told BBC News “my show will not be as good. In fact, in moments it may very well be terrible”. Watch this space for return dates as and when they are released.

BBC News - “Leno vows to get show back on air”
Perez Hilton - “The King Of Late Night”

Update: Leno and Conan will return with new shows on the 2nd January. More at Media Buyer Planner

Guest listings checked and updated for all shows - www.lateshowuk.com/guest-listings

Monday 31st December - Pre-empted
Tuesday 1st January - Pre-empted
Wednesday 2nd January - Pre-empted
Thursday 3rd January - Pre-empted

Updated 3rd January 2008.

Monday 31st December - Pre-empted
Tuesday 1st January - Pre-empted
Wednesday 2nd January - Pre-empted
Thursday 3rd January - Pre-empted

Updated 3rd January 2008.

Reruns this week due to the US writers strike

Monday 17th December - Cuba Gooding Jr., Jackie Hoffman, Bruce Parry (Rerun)
Tuesday 18th December - Bob Saget, Maggie Q, Shane Mauss (Rerun)
Wednesday 19th December - Kevin Bacon, Will Forte, Eisley (Rerun)
Thursday 20th December - David Duchovny, Tim Gunn, Kevin Brennan (Rerun)
Friday 21st December - Jeff Garlin, Hot Hot Heat (Rerun)

Reruns this week due to the US writers strike

Monday 17th December - Jamie Foxx, Brad Paisley (Rerun)
Tuesday 18th December - Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, the Goo Goo Dolls (Rerun)
Wednesday 19th December - Will Smith, Richard Roeper, Blind Boys of Alabama (Rerun)
Thursday 20th December - Matthew McConaughey, Opie & Anthony, the Killers (Rerun)
Friday 21st December - Dustin Hoffman, Abigail Breslin, African Children’s Choir (Rerun)

Reruns this week due to the US writers strike

Monday 17th December - TBA (Rerun)
Tuesday 18th December - Regis Philbin, Katey Sagal, Colin Hanks, Brian McKnight (Rerun)
Wednesday 19th December - Dennis Quaid, Brian Stokes, Bill Nye, Bob Marley (Rerun)
Thursday 20th December - Teri Garr, Dwight Yoakam (Rerun)
Friday 21st December - Tea Leoni, Amy Tan, RZA (Rerun)

Reruns this week due to the US writers strike

Monday 17th December - Julia Roberts, Travis, Sean “Diddy” Combs (Rerun)
Tuesday 18th December - Cher, Jerry Springer (Rerun)
Wednesday 19th December - Oprah Winfrey, Bonnie Raitt (Rerun)
Thursday 20th December - Madonna, Melissa Etheridge, Roy Oswalt (Rerun)
Friday 21st December - Drew Barrymore, Rod Stewart (Rerun)

The Late Show is back on UK TV screens on new channel, Diva TV - Available on Virgin Media channel 192 and Sky Digital channel 282 - Letterman is shown at 9pm weeknights and reruns on Saturdays and Sundays at 11pm. Diva TV shows it on a delay - which varies - so check the “Upcoming Shows” box at the top right of the sidebar for Diva TV schedules (listings on the “Guest Listings” pages are US airdates).

David Letterman looks very close to accepting a deal with the Writers Guild Of America (WGA) - according to The Money Times “David Letterman is currently in the middle of negotiating a deal with the union that would allow his late night show to go on air again from the beginning of January”. The deal would allow Letterman to use writers’ material - and should also mean the Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson returns at the same time - because the deal would be with Worldwide Pants who produce both the Late Show and the Late Late Show. The Money Times also reports Jon Stewart is close to working out a similar deal.

The Money Times - “David Letterman Looks to Break WGA Strike Deadlock”

The Hollywood Reporter is also talking about David Letterman’s new proposed deal - “The deal would allow the late-night show to come back on the air with its entire staff, including scribes, intact” - and also says “Worldwide Pants’ individual talks with the WGA might also be a precursor to a new direction in the WGA’s negotiation strategy. The guild has decided to begin approaching AMPTP companies and try to negotiate with them individually”.

The Hollywood Reporter - “Worldwide Pants fit for deal with WGA”

Reuters say “A spokesman for Letterman’s company, WorldWide Pants, noted the company is an independent producer and can sign an interim deal outside the talks between the writers guild and the producers alliance. The company also produces “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” on CBS”.

Reuters - “Hollywood moguls show their unity in strike”

Another website - TV By The Numbers - thinks “that’s great for Dave, great for Dave’s writers, great for Dave’s non-writing staff (assuming that Dave might eventually stop paying them as he has since the beginning of the strike), but very bad for the WGA as a whole”.

TV By The Numbers - “A Separate Letterman Deal is Bad For the WGA”

BBC News - “Letterman’s company, Worldwide Pants - which also makes Scottish comic Craig Ferguson’s US talk show - said that, as an independent producer, it could negotiate with the Writers Guild separately from the AMPTP”.

BBC News - “Studios ‘united’ in Hollywood row”