Fans of late-night talk shows were the first to feel the hurt when members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike Nov. 5 against the Association of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP). You can read tons about the Writers Strike here.

But come Jan. 2, 2008, just as fans of sit-coms and dramas start to see their favorite shows replaced by reality programs and game shows, talk shows hosts like Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien will return to the airwaves.

Although they’ll do so without their WGA writers.

So what does this mean?

Well, that depends. Late Night host Conan O’Brien defined his show – and its brethren – as hybrids, with both written and non-written content, going on to say that an unwritten version of his show is doable – but not desirable.

And it’s particularly tricky for hosts like Leno and O’Brien, both members of the WGA. By guild rules, they are not allowed to write anything for their shows.

Comedian Frank Calliendo, a regular guest on talk shows like The Tonight Show and the Late Show with David Letterman, described the circumstance in a guest spot on radio talkie The Bob & Tom Show. As a member of the WGA and a featured player on Fox Sports’ NFL Sunday, he described working as an actor and not working as a writer. Not allowed to write down any material – even in note form – prior to broadcast, he can only perform per words written by non-guild writers and by improvisation.

p]Leno and O’Brien (and other hosts who return without their writers) won’t create skits, can’t write jokes, and, quite possibly, cannot create a flow for their program.

They’ll have to wing it. Which could mean ad-libbed monologues – not necessarily a bad thing, if a talk show host is talented enough to pull it off (think Leno, not Daly) – or no monologue at all. It is sure to limit or more likely eliminate visits by O’Brien’s various comic characters and featured Leno bits, like “Headlines.”

Shows are more likely to be guest and performance heavy. Expect longer interviews and more musical numbers.

Then there’s the question of whether guests will be willing to cross picket lines to be featured on shows that haven’t entered into an interim agreement with the WGA. Interim agreements would allow guild writers to work on programs like Late Show.

What would we like to see?

We’d like to see just that: Shows that are on-air without their WGA writers forgo those elements of their program that employ the talents of their writers. Here are some sggestions:[

• Turn the monologue into a Q&A: Remember Carol Burnett’s Q&A? Or am I showing my age? This is something Jay Leno could pull off wonderfully. Forgo the one-liners, ad-libbed or otherwise, and engage your audience while the writers are out.
• Support your writers with Best Of segments: Still want to run the funny stuff between the monologue and the first guest? You can! And you can do it and support your writers at the same time. How? Best of Our Writers moments! Spotlight a writer or writing team and a memorable skit or character they created for the show and for viewers.

• Let the viewers supply the jokes: At least we’d understand why our favorite talk shows employ professional comedy writers. A blogger walks into a blar …. See what I mean?
• More Richard Simmons: Given that a lot of A-list celebrities (and B- and C-listers, for that matter), support the strike, guests may be hard to come by. So it seems the most appropriate time to let perennial talk show guests like Richard Simmons get more couch time.

The show must, inevitably, go on, and we’re happy to see our hosts get back in the saddle. Let’s all hope that the writers behind the shows get the opportunity to come back soon, as well.