Letterman show returns after strike deal

A fully bearded David Letterman opened his first talk show in two months by walking out amid dancing girls holding picket signs for striking TV writers.

One of five US talk-show hosts to return to work – and, with Craig Ferguson, one of only two with working writers – Letterman was joined last night by comic Robin Williams and a cameo by Hillary Clinton on tape from Iowa.

“Dave has been off the air for eight long weeks because of the writers strike,” the Democratic presidential candidate said in an opening to Letterman’s Late Show.

“Tonight, he’s back. Oh, well, all good things come to an end.”

The return of TV’s late-night funnymen after a two-month strike hiatus turned into a bizarre mix of picketing and presidential politics as Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee headed for Jay Leno’s show on NBC and Clinton turned to Letterman on CBS.

Huckabee appeared confused over which of the two late-night hosts had reached a separate deal with the union representing striking TV and movie writers.

Huckabee said he supports the writers and did not think he would be crossing a picket line, because he believed the writers had made an agreement to allow late-night shows on the air.

That is not the case with Leno, and pickets outside Leno’s California studio targeted Huckabee.

Last night, the Writers Guild of America issued a statement saying the guild “thanks the former governor for his strong statement of support for striking writers and hopes that he will not cross the picket lines at NBC”.

However, NBC said Huckabee appeared on the show on the eve of the Iowa caucus, the first statewide vote in the presidential race.

Letterman and fellow CBS host Ferguson struck deals to allow writers to come back to work yesterday.

NBC’s Leno and Conan O’Brien and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel were back at work without writers.

Writers also picketed outside the New York studio where O’Brien tapes his show each night.

Comics Bob Saget and Dwayne Perkins and musicians Robert Gordon and Chris Spedding were O'Brien’s first-night guests.

The picketing writers said they were hoping to encourage people not to appear on the shows where writers were not working.

Leno’s staff writers, who regularly picket at one of the gates to NBC studios, did not show up yesterday.

Writers insist they are demonstrating against NBC, not against Leno, who was supportive of his writers in the early days of the strike.

“It must be difficult for them to picket their own boss,” said Allan Katz, a veteran sitcom writer. "Probably, Jay Leno understands.”

Besides depriving the United States of jokes, the two months of reruns have been devastating for the networks – particularly NBC.

Late-night leader Leno is averaging 4.4 million viewers this season, losing a quarter of his audience from last season. Before the strike, his audience was off 10%, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Letterman’s average of 3.6 million viewers is 15% off last season. Before the strike, his viewership was down 9%.

Leno’s audience was obviously far less interested in reruns or – even worse for NBC – decided to sample Letterman instead.

Kimmel’s audience of 1.8 million viewers is slightly up from last season, because it follows Nightline, which has been making fresh shows.

O’Brien’s audience is down 29% from last season and he has been running virtually neck-and-neck with Ferguson: O’Brien has 1.8 million viewers, Ferguson 1.7 million. Now Ferguson returns with writers and O’Brien without.

The Screen Actors Guild has urged its members to appear with Letterman and Ferguson.

It is unclear whether Hollywood celebrities will be willing to cross picket lines for time on national television.

Besides being without writers, Leno, O’Brien and Kimmel will be unable to perform many familiar comic bits, including traditional monologues, because of strike rules.

Comedy Central’s topical nightly comedies, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, will return on Monday without striking writers.