This isn’t the first time talk shows resumed without writers. The quality last time was absolutely terrible.

The irony though is that last time it helped resolve the strike. Letterman, who owns his own production company, struck a separate deal with the union. That meant that his show was the only one with writers, and it put a ton of pressure on his peers. But most of them were large, corporate production companies, so they had to swallow terms they didn’t like.