Now entering its eighth week, the Writers Guild of America strike has shut down many TV shows and cost more than 350 million dollars in lost wages. And that's making for a bleak holiday season for prop masters, electricians, carpenters and other "below the line" workers, who have been forced out of work by the strike. Prop company owner JIM ELYEA says his business has dropped by 40 percent since the strike began November 5th, forcing him to lay off some workers and take a pass on exchanging Christmas presents this year.
In the meantime, reps for Late Show host DAVID LETTERMAN met with striking writers on Friday, in an attempt to reach a deal that would allow for Letterman's show to return to the air with its writing staff. Late-night hosts JAY LENO, CONAN O'BRIEN and JIMMY KIMMEL plan to return to their shows January 2nd without their writing staffs. JON STEWART and STEPHEN COLBERT will bring their Comedy Central shows back without writers on January 7th.
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