What happened to late-night TV during the 2007 writers’ strike?

We are a little over a week into the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. The labor dispute has halted countless movies and TV shows across the entertainment industry, including late-night TV. Some fans may recall that late-night found itself in a similar situation during the 2007-2008 WGA strike.

Since May 2, late-night TV shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon have gone dark. Members of the WGA are picketing, demanding better wages from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Residuals and changes in accordance with streaming numbers sit at the heart of the dispute.

With no end in sight, some are looking back at the 2007-2008 WGA strike to get an idea of the short- and long-term effects on TV. That strike called for increased funding for writers.

So while the motivations and causes may not be the same, some of the results are similar. Late-night TV has come to a halt. But what happened in 2007, and could it be a sign of what’s to come?

Late-night TV aired reruns when the 2007 writers’ strike began

Just like the 2023 WGA strike, the 2007 work stoppage forced networks to air reruns of late-night TV programs. Here’s a list of shows that leaned on repeats beginning in November 2007:

• The Colbert Report
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• Jimmy Kimmel Live!
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
• Late Night with Conan O’Brien
• Late Show with David Letterman
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• Real Time with Bill Maher
• Saturday Night Live
• Last Call with Carson Daly

Late-night TV eventually returned without writers

Fans went months without any new content from late-night TV to close out 2007. However, the new year finally brought the return of several popular shows. These programs returned in January 2008 without writers:

• The Colbert Report
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• Late Night with Conan O’Brien
• Real Time with Bill Maher
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

With no writers on staff, it was up to the individual hosts to come up with monologue jokes and material at the top of the show. The decision wasn’t exactly met with universal praise as some hosts faced criticism and questions about how they prepared their material.

Hosts such as Conan O’Brien and Carson Daly admitted the situation wasn’t ideal. But they informed their audience that failing to return to air would cost the jobs of non-writing staff members. O’Brien and Letterman also reportedly paid non-striking staff members out of their own pockets.

David Letterman managed to help keep two late-night TV shows running

It was a different story for Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Letterman’s Worldwide Pants, Inc. production company owned the programs and thus could conduct its own negotiations.

In December 2007, the WGA reached an agreement with Worldwide Pants that allowed the writing staff to return to both shows. Letterman and Fergurson returned to the air with the support of their writers on January 2, 2008. WGA called on networks such as NBC to find a similar compromise.

Late-night TV returned to normal when the strike ended

The 2007-2008 WGA strike ended in mid-February. The new agreement meant late-night TV writers went back to work and new episodes began airing.

Late-night TV spent roughly a month producing episodes without a writing staff. It’s unclear if the 2023 strike will produce a similar schedule. There has been no indication that any late-night TV hosts plan to return to air without their staff anytime soon. But, enough pressure from networks and the job status of non-striking workers could force Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, and more into a difficult decision.

Do you remember late-night TV during the last WGA strike? Share any memories you have in the comment section below!