Late Night TV Could Return As Soon As Early October After WGA Strikes Reach Possible Resolution: “We Want To Come Back ASAP” 

Now that the WGA and the AMPTP have possibly reached a resolution, late night insiders say they’re ready to return to air as soon as early October.

According to inside sources, Variety reports late night television is ready to “come back ASAP.”

“I think everybody’s leaning forward, like they’re ready to go,” another source said. “I would look for them to return on October 2 or October 9. I think that they are going to be very motivated to get their crews working again.”

Some sources say late night producers are already reaching out and asking crews to return to work, possibly as soon as Tuesday.

As Variety reports, talk shows hosts are on strike as part of the WGA. But talk shows are covered under the SAG-AFTRA’s network code, which means they would be allowed to return to air as soon as the Writer’s Guild approves of the new deal.

The late night hosts are rumored to be returning at the same time after most of them chose to stay off the air in solidarity with writers.

Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and John Oliver recently teamed up to create the Strike Force Five podcast to raise funds for their crews who have been out of work during the writer’s strike. Bill Maher was the only late night host who planned to bring his show, Real Time With Bill Maher, back; he quickly reversed his decision after facing criticism.

The Drew Barrymore Show, The Talk and The Jennifer Hudson Show were also slated to return in September but decided to delay their season returns until a resolution was reached.

“I think that the calculation for all these shows is how quickly you can get your crew back to work,” one insider told Variety. “There’s probably some conversations to be had with labor relations. We’re so close to the finish line that no one wants to step on a guild landmine. But from a production standpoint, I think you could turn it around pretty quickly.”

In a message to its members on Sunday (Sept. 24) evening, the WGA announced that they finally reached a tentative agreement with the studios and streamers after almost 146 days on strike.

“We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional – with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” the WGA wrote, per a separate Variety report.

Picketing has since been suspended with the guild encouraging members to instead join forces with SAG-AFTRA, who are still waiting on their own deal with the AMPTP.

Next, the WGA’s negotiating committee is expected to vote on whether to recommend that the deal go to a vote; the contract would then be sent to the guild members for ratification.