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Kimmel's Show Will Return, Sans Writers

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By LYNN ELBER, The Associated Press

Published: December 20, 2007

LOS ANGELES - Jimmy Kimmel will join NBC's late-night hosts in returning with new shows Jan. 2 in the midst of the Hollywood writers strike, ABC said.

Kimmel, along with Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and other hosts, had honored the strike that began Nov. 5. He said it was a difficult decision to resume work without writers, but he wants to save the jobs of other staffers on the show.

"Though it makes me sick to do so without my writers, there are more than a hundred people whose financial well-being depends on our show. It is time to go back to work," Kimmel said in a statement released by ABC.

Kimmel voiced support for colleagues and friends in the Writers Guild of America and added that he hoped the contract dispute with producers "ends both fairly and soon."

NBC has announced that Leno's "Tonight Show" and O'Brien's "Late Night" would be back on the air Jan. 2.

Last month, NBC's "Last Call With Carson Daly" became the first late-night talk show to defy the strike and resume production.

And the writers guild is talking about making a deal with David Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, so his "Late Show" on CBS can return with its writers.

With no negotiations scheduled, Leno said he felt it was his responsibility to get his 100 nonwriting staff members back to work.

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