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Due to our seemingly-permanent visit to rerun purgatory known as the ongoing writers strike, late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien has decided to pay the salaries of more than 75 non-striking “Late Night” employees out of his own pocket. David Letterman also plans to pay staff salaries on his own show through the end of the year, as well as those of "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson," which is also a part of Letterman’s Worldwide Pants production company.

Jay Leno, on the other hand, the highest-paid late-night host with an estimated annual salary of $27 million, has shown support for strikers but had initially refused to pay anyone while the strike was underway. When roughly 100 non-striking “Tonight Show” staffers received layoff notices from NBC on Friday, Leno’s only reaction at the time was to offer early Christmas bonuses of $100 for each year they were employed on the show. A sharp media backlash against the talk show host seems to have changed his mind, however, as he later announced plans to pay his staff salaries “for the time being.”

In a somewhat predictable display of douchebaggery, human scab Carson Daly has taken it upon himself to cross picket lines and return to the set of his “Last Call With Carson Daly” show. Rather than dip into his own pockets, Daly instead offered this rationalization:"If I didn't go back to work, roughly 75 staff and crew would have lost their jobs," Daly said. "As a non-WGA member, I feel I have supported the Writers Guild of America and the strike by suspending production for a month. While I continue to support the cause, I can't, in all good conscience, stand by and let that happen to my loyal staff and crew. I sincerely hope the strike will be resolved soon."

The strike, which began Nov. 5, immediately shut down late-night comedy shows and has gradually shut down the production of the vast majority of prime-time network series. Although writers are now entering their fifth week of the strike, there has so far been no sign of an agreement between the Writers Guild of America and the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers).

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