Strike, Shmike: Carson Daly Gets Back to Work

Tue., Nov. 27, 2007 1:38 PM PST by Sarah Hall

Carson Daly is feeling the call of the working world.

Despite the ongoing writers' strike, the Last Call host will resume production on his NBC late-night show this week, taping episodes slated to air next week, the network confirmed Tuesday.

The move makes Daly the first late-night host to return to work since the strike began Nov. 5. The respective shows of Jon Stewart, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien et al. have been in reruns ever since, with no indication that any of them plan to resume production.

Judging from Ellen DeGeneres' experience earlier this month, Daly's decision won't be popular with those on the picket lines.

After breaking for the first day of the strike in solidarity with her writers, DeGeneres resumed taping her syndicated talk show without them the next day, drawing criticism from the WGA, which has derided her scab-like behavior.

Unlike DeGeneres, however, Daly is not a member of the WGA. And his choice comes after NBC threatened to lay off all nonwriting staff members on his show, as well as on Late Night and The Tonight Show.

Even so, the WGA's West Coast branch responded to the news with an angry statement Tuesday, saying it hoped Daly would reconsider.

"We’re disappointed at Carson Daly’s decision to return to work. Mr. Daly is not a writer and not a member of the WGA, unlike other late-night hosts Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Craig Ferguson, and Jimmy Kimmel, who have all resisted network pressure and honored our writers' picket lines," the guild said.

"We're especially appalled at Mr. Daly's call for non-Guild writers to provide him with jokes. We hope he'll change his mind and follow the lead of the other late-night hosts."

Though Stewart, Letterman and their ilk have given no sign they are planning to follow in Daly's footsteps, writers for their shows are finding ways to keep themselves busy.

Scribes for The Late Show recently launched the Website lateshowwritersonstrike.com as a virtual creative outlet for the staff.

"This was a good chance for these guys to get their writing styles out there, communicate the message of the strike and also show how funny they are," cohead writer Eric Stangel told the Los Angeles Times.

Meanwhile, writers for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have created video segments on YouTube, in which they give their perspectives on the strike.

With the strike in its fourth week, talks between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers resumed Tuesday for the second of three planned days of negotiations.

Though few details from the discussions emerged due to a previously agreed-upon media blackout, insiders reported little progress was made after Monday's session.