Late-night shows shut down due to union strike, will air reruns

WASHINGTON (TND) — Late-night television shows, such as NBC’s "The Tonight Show" and ABC’s "Jimmy Kimmel Live," are halting production and preparing to air reruns after the Writer's Guild of America (WGA) announced its union members would go on strike.

About 11,500 unionized screenwriters in the entertainment industry have decided to go on strike for the first time in 15 years, heading to the picket lines on Tuesday. Late-night talk shows are expected to be the first to be affected.

"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," "Late Night with Seth Meyers" and "The Daily Show" are among the daily late-night shows affected, Deadline reports.

HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" and "Real Time with Bill Maher" are also reportedly set to be similarly affected, even though they produce weekly content.

The iconic "Saturday Night Live" has not made a final decision yet, according to Deadline, but a decision is expected by the end of the week.

The WGA is seeking higher pay for its unionized workers and more staffed writing rooms, according to the Associated Press. The guild claims entertainment companies have created a "gig economy" within the profession of writing.

The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing," the WGA reportedly claimed in a statement.The survival of our profession is at stake," the WGA has said, according to the AP.

Steaming content has apparently been a big factor in the entertainment writing industry, with syndication and international licensing deals being affected.

Kimmel and Colbert have already gone through a writers' strike. Both show hosts were on air during the 2007-2008 writers' strike, with Kimmel being on the same show and Colbert being on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" at the time.

"No one is entitled to a job in show business. But for those people who have a job, they are entitled to fair compensation," Seth Meyers said on his show Monday.

I think it’s a very reasonable demand that’s being set out by the guild. And I support those demands," Meyers said, according to Deadline.

Host Jimmy Fallon also told Variety during an interview at Monday's 2023 Met Gala that he "wouldn't have a show if it wasn't for [his] writers."

I support them all the way," Fallon reportedly said.

Stephen Colbert did a segment on his show's potential upcoming shutdown, saying he was providing his audience "future jokes ... just in case" he show goes off air for a while.

Without these people, this show would be called The Late Show with a guy rambling about Lord of the Rings and boats for an hour,” Colbert said on his show, adding that, “The writers’ demands are not unreasonable. I’m a member of the guild. I support collective bargaining. This nation owes so much to unions.”

Late-night television show runners have reportedly told Deadline that they will all keep in touch with each other as the strike continues, something that apparently was not done last time.

I have been and will continue to talk to the other shows to see what they’re up to,” one showrunner reportedly said. “We’ve got to support the writers — our writers are amazing. That said, the rest of the staff is amazing, and I don’t want to see anybody lose their jobs or lose a paycheck. What’s the happy medium there? Figuring that out, it’s not been easy."

An unnamed Saturday Night Live star reportedly told Deadline that they "absolutely support the writers," but also worry for the show's overall crew.

We have to think about our crew too," the SNL star reportedly said. "I absolutely support the writers, and I want the writers to get what they deserve and need, but I don’t want our crew to be out of work. We can’t make this art without each other."

The last WGA strike started in 2007 and ended in 2008, 100 days later. A 1988 WGA strike lasted 153 days.

According to the AP, Milken Institute data showed that the last WGA strike cost Southern California $2.1 billion.

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