From WGA Strike’s Front Line, Late-Night Writers Speak Out
5 min read 03 May 2023, 08:36 PM IST Talks shows aren’t the center of the labor dispute, but they are the first shows to go dark. And it all comes at a fraught moment for the format.
PremiumDevin Delliquanti had jokes at the ready about the King of England’s fingers. But instead of working on those punchlines for a Tuesday-night edition of “The Daily Show," the staff writer spent the afternoon on a picket line in Midtown Manhattan with colleagues, chanting slogans and hoisting signs with messages such as “Do the write thing!" and “Miss your show, let them know!"
“We’re on strike, so I’m not allowed to tell you what [‘The Daily Show’] would have said about the coronation of a man with sausage fingers," Mr. Delliquanti said. “I wish we were doing a normal Tuesday but we need a fair contract to get the show on the air."
When late-night talk shows from “Jimmy Kimmel Live" to “Late Night with Seth Meyers" went into reruns indefinitely starting Tuesday night, it was the first major indication to TV audiences of a work shutdown that has brought much of the entertainment industry to a halt. Members of the Writers Guild of America, which has 11,500 television and movie writers in its ranks, walked picket lines in New York and Los Angeles after contract talks ended without a deal between the union and a coalition representing the major Hollywood studios, streamers and networks.
Late-night shows are not the main flashpoint in the labor dispute. The most contentious issues in the stalemate concern changes wrought by streaming television that the WGA says has squeezed writers’ pay and eroded the stability of their employment.
But the strike’s impact on that kind of content won’t immediately be felt by audiences. Streaming platforms and TV networks have a stockpile of crime procedurals, dramas and sitcoms. Movie studios have a long pipeline of releases ready for theaters and streaming platforms. Late-night shows are more timely, converting the news of the day into monologues and skits that rely on a much faster creative metabolism.
“You make the show that day, it airs that night, and it’s such a direct way to see the product of people’s work," said writer Josh Gondelman, a veteran of “Desus & Mero" and “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," as news crews covering the strike jostled for sidewalk space with union members.
The recycled shows airing Tuesday night featured monologues dating to last month, including jokes about Joe Biden’s tax returns (Jimmy Kimmel), the president’s trip to Ireland (Stephen Colbert) and Donald Trump’s arrest in New York (Jimmy Fallon).
Though late-night programming remains a ritual for millions of viewers, the format has reckoned with unique pressures. The pandemic forced hosts to air shows from their homes, then in studios full of empty seats before getting back to business as usual. In the era of atomized viewing habits, several cable talk shows have been canceled in recent years. CBS decided to discontinue its “Late Late Show" after 28 years when the most recent host, James Corden, signed off last week.
It’s uncertain how long late-night will remain dark if the strike drags on. The last time writers walked off the job, in 2007, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and other hosts eventually returned to the air with ad-hoc shows before the 100-day strike ended. On Tuesday a video clip from 15 years ago resurfaced online—Mr. O’Brien spinning his wedding ring on his desk to kill airtime—as commenters speculated about what the current shutdown might bring.
Jonathan Bines, a writer for “Jimmy Kimmel Live" who works remotely for the L.A.-based show and also walked the picket lines in 2007, said, “We’re the bleeding edge of what people are going to notice, but this strike goes far beyond what we do."
Writers on broadcast and cable talk shows said Tuesday they were concerned about broader issues at play in contract talks, including conditions for peers who do similar jobs for streaming shows. For example, late-night writers on traditional TV networks are guaranteed a minimum employment of 13 weeks. But the same doesn’t apply under the existing contract for the writing staff of streaming-only talk shows such as “The Amber Ruffin Show," which airs on NBCUniversal’s Peacock platform, said Sasha Stewart, a council member for the WGA’s east branch who has written for various comedy shows.
“What the negotiating committee has seen is that late night is a canary in the coal mine for the rest of the industry," Ms. Stewart said.
A spokesman for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the Hollywood coalition, declined to comment and referred to an earlier statement that said AMPTP member companies “remain united in their desire to reach a deal that is mutually beneficial to writers and the health and longevity of the industry, and to avoid hardship to the thousands of employees who depend upon the industry for their livelihoods."
In New York striking writers first convened on Fifth Avenue, roughly 10 blocks south of the Rockefeller Center studios where NBC’s roster of late-night shows would normally be gearing up for tapings. Instead, picketers had gathered outside a building where NBCUniversal was promoting its Peacock lineup to advertisers.
Around 1 p.m. strike coordinators laid out trash bags full of handwritten picket signs attached to cardboard handles for members to choose from. Organizers inflated the giant rat known as Scabby, a familiar presence at strike sites. Amid chants such as “No writers, no TV," the group marched in a slow circle that grew to fill a city block. Famous faces dotted the ranks of picketers, including Aidy Bryant, a former cast member of “Saturday Night Live," who circled the sidewalk with current writers from the show.
Steve Higgins, an “SNL" writer and producer, also known as the announcer for “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," said he was also worried about the strike’s impact on crew members on the shows who aren’t part of the WGA but are still temporarily out of work.
NBC said on Tuesday it would air repeats of “SNL" until further notice, starting this weekend, potentially bringing a premature end to the show’s 48th season. Former cast member Pete Davidson had been scheduled to host the show for the first time Saturday.
Eventually, Mr. Higgins said, “he’ll get a redo."