Late night television is finally starting to return after the end of the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) strike, with numerous fan-favorite shows officially being back on the air.
Following the 148-day writers’ strike, major studios and the WGA reached a deal, providing the writers with residual payments, higher pay and more that they were lacking before.
Some notable returns are those of “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and, as of Oct. 14, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”
Since the strike has come to an end, these shows are now able to air again, bringing back late night entertainment.
SNL returns with strong debut
While the SAG-AFTRA strikes are still taking place, “Saturday Night Live” cast members and hosts are allowed to perform on the show as it is under a separate agreement and doesn’t violate the rules of the strike.
“Saturday Night Live” season 49 premiered on Oct. 14, with host Pete Davidson and musical guest Ice Spice. Davidson was initially set to host in May, but the season was cut short due to the strikes.
Davidson left the show following season 47, along with fellow “Saturday Night Live” stars Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney. All of these cast members left their marks on the show, so it was certainly an interesting transition with them gone.
However, Davidson finally got his opportunity to come back and host the season 49 premiere.
To begin the episode, Davidson started off with a heartfelt, cold story about losing his father on Sept. 11, 2001. He used this experience to address the conflict between Israel and Gaza.
The episode included many iconic moments, such as the sketch “I’m Just Pete” and surprise appearances from Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. It was a ridiculously funny episode, filled with a lot of fun, character-driven sketches.
Davidson’s debut did not disappoint, and having him back on the show was very refreshing.
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The episode also featured outstanding performances from new and returning cast members alike, with standouts Chloe Fineman, Bowen Yang, Kenan Thompson, Marcello Hernandez and the season’s new cast member, Chloe Troast.
How other shows handled their comebacks
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” had its post-strike return on Oct. 2 with the season 11 premiere. Fallon’s first guests of the season were Matthew McConaughey and John Mayer, with other notable guests of the season so far being Pete Davidson, Seth Meyers, Leslie Odom Jr. and Kelly Clarkson.
Fallon, who got his start on “Saturday Night Live,” has been a big name in late night television for many years now.
Another big return is that of “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” which took a different approach with its first episode on Oct. 2.
Instead of having the usual structure with guests, the season 11 premiere titled “A Full Hour of A Closer Look,” is exactly what the name implies. “A Closer Look” is a popular segment done by Meyers, but instead of doing it for the usual 10-minute period, he did it for the entire episode.
The other episodes of the season so far have been the usual structure, featuring guests including Anne Hathaway, Nick Offerman, Marcello Hernandez and Reba McEntire.
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” are also back following the strike, with Kimmel on season 22 and Colbert on season nine.
Although the SAG-AFTRA strike is still taking place and impacting the entertainment industry, the end of the WGA strike has allowed for late night television to return, providing audiences with laughs once again.