Letterman to pay employees through strike

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Strike or not, employees of the "Late Show With David Letterman" and the "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson" will be paid through year's end.

Both are produced by Letterman's Worldwide Pants banner, which notified employees in New York and Los Angeles that they will be paid regardless of whether the shows return. It would make Worldwide Pants the first known company to guarantee its staff a paycheck during the writers strike.

It comes at a time when other shows like NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" have told employees to expect to be idled as the strike continues through its second week. There were rumors, since denied, that "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart had initially guaranteed a paycheck to his writers.

Unlike NBC, which owns "The Tonight Show," CBS does not own the "Late Show" or the "Late Late Show." The network pays a license fee to the production company, which it has stopped since there are no new shows.

It doesn't mean, however, that there will be no work on "Late Show." Decisions are being made week-to-week on whether the show will return to the air in some form.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter