The American late-night show hosts are officially back on air after writers strike ended with Fallon expressing his gratitude, Kimmel joking about seeing psychiatrist, and more.
- Oct 3, 2023
AceShowbiz - Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and more late night talk show hosts were back on air this week. After five months of strikes, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has settled the dispute to get writers back to work, which meant Fallon, Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Meyers were back on the air on Monday, October 2 night.
"I just want to say I'm so happy all the writers finally got their fair deal that they deserved. You got to hand it to them, only writers would spend all summer fighting to go back to the office," Fallon told viewers to voice support for the writers.
He added, "Yeah it took five months to reach the deal. The stalemate finally ended when the studios realised 'We've gotta end this now or it's another three months of watching Suits!' " He hugged his desk before taking his seat and talking about how "grateful" he is for his show.
Kimmel enlisted some famous friends - including "Terminator" star Arnold Schwarzenegger as his psychiatrist - for a pre-taped intro, while the studio was being used by people playing pickleball.
The host quipped, "Apparently while we were gone, they've been renting out our studio as a pickleball court." As he told them to leave, he teased, "Try James Corden's studio, he moved to England."
Meanwhile, Colbert admitted it felt "good to be back" and joked his wife Evie had "refused to keep chanting his name" during the strike. He added, "But now the writers' strike is over with a new contract that includes protections against A.I., cost-of-living increases, better pay, better pay for streaming."
"Plus, thanks to the picket lines, my writers got fresh air and sunshine - and they do not care for that. Now they are back safely in their joke holes doing what they do best, making my prompter word-screen full of good and ha-ha."
