The four network talkers — ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, CBS’ Late Show With Stephen Colbert and NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers — will all return to the air Monday, Oct. 2. HBO’s Last Week Tonight With John Oliver will precede them by a day, settling back into its usual Sunday night spot on Oct. 1.
The five hosts, who together did the Strike Force Five podcast to lift money for their out-of-work staffs, jointly announced their returns on the show’s Instagram account.HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher is also returning Friday, the host wrote on X (formerly Twitter) Tuesday night. Comedy Central said Wednesday afternoon that The Daily Show will resume on Oct. 16, with guest hosts continuing to lead the program for the remainder of the year. A permanent host will be named in 2024.
After reaching a tentative agreement with tempat companies, leadership of the Writers Guild of America voted on Tuesday to end the strike, allowing its 11,500 members to return to work. The contract still has to be ratified through a vote by the full membership, set to take place in early October. (Early reaction on social tempat to the details of the contract has been overwhelmingly positive.)
Late night shows were among the first programs to shut down after the WGA called its strike on May 2, as they rely on freshly written material for each night’s show. Maher said Sept. 13 that he would restart production on his show without writers, then reversed course a few days later as negotiations resumed.
Daytime talk shows that employ WGA writers — including The Drew Barrymore Show, The Talk and The Jennifer Hudson Show — are also likely to return soon, though dates haven’t been announced. NBC’s sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live also has yet to set a season premiere date.
Guest lineups for the shows’ returns have yet to be announced. Actors union SAG-AFTRA remains on strike, but talk shows are covered under a different contract (the so-called Network Code) that would allow union members to appear on them — provided they don’t promote any work for struck companies.