Letterman Lands Robin Williams for First Night Back on Air

David Letterman’s company, Worldwide Pants, reached an agreement with the striking Writers Guild of America last week that will allow his show, as well as the show that follows Letterman on CBS, Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, to return to the air with its regular staff writers.

With the agreement came support from the Screen Actors Guild for its members to return as guests on those shows, writes The New York Times.

Following the agreement, Letterman announced that he has booked comedian and film star Robin Williams as the first guest when the show returns to the air tonight (Wednesday).

In response, Jay Leno has landed one of the highest-profile political figures of the moment, Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee, for tonight. Leno’s The Tonight Show on NBC is returning without its writers.

The Times predicts that there may be what it calls an “A-list booking-war blitz” now that the late night shows are returning to the air.

Late Night with Conan O’Brien on NBC and Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC have not announced guests; nor have Comedy Central’s late-night shows, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert, both scheduled to return Jan. 7.

The late night shows returning without benefit of their writers are restricted under union strike rules from performing familiar comic bits, including traditional monologues, according to the AP.

The fact that CBS’s shows are returning with the blessing of the Writers Guild is likely to benefit the network, because the other shows will have to struggle to fill the non-interview portions of the show with material not supplied by their writers. Initially, however, the shows attempting to be funny without their writers may draw more interest, says a representative for the CBS shows. “At least at first it will probably be more interesting for people to check out the potential train wrecks,” said the rep, who requested anonymity.