Here's Jimmy Kimmel!

JIMMY KIMMEL will follow the lead of fellow late-night hosts JAY LENO and CONAN O'BRIEN and return to work on January 2nd, without the help of his striking writers. Much like Leno and O'Brien, the host of ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live made his decision out of consideration for his non-writing staff members. He said yesterday in a statement, quote, "Though it makes me sick to do so without my writers, there are more than a hundred people whose financial well-being depends on our show. It is time to go back to work."

Leno and O'Brien announced their impending return earlier this week, though they also won't have writers to pen jokes for them until the seven-week-old strike is resolved.

Most late-night shows have aired reruns since the strike began on November 5th. CARSON DALY resumed production on his NBC late-night show last month, and DAVID LETTERMAN's production company, Worldwide Pants, is reportedly seeking an individual agreement with the Writers Guild of America to bring back his CBS show and its writers, as well as The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, which Letterman's company produces.

TV FunHouse

CBS is preparing itself in case the writers' strike drags into 2008. CBS president LES MOONVES said yesterday that the network's spring schedule will feature programs from Showtime, in edited form. CBS and Showtime, the home of such shows as Weeds and Dexter, are both controlled by the same company...

According to The Hollywood Reporter, ABC has suspended pay for JIMMY KIMMEL and staff members of his late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, in the wake of the writers' strike. Kimmel will now pay most of his employees himself, following the leads of other hosts such as DAVID LETTERMAN and CONAN O'BRIEN...

People magazine reports that actress JILL HENNESSY welcomed a son named GIANNI on November 21st. The baby is her second child with husband PAOLO MASTROPIETRO. Hennessy's credits include Crossing Jordan and Law & Order...

Strike, Strike, baby

Today marks the 11th day of the writers' strike. While there's no public sign of an imminent deal with producers, there continue to be developments on shows being affected by the strike. Here's the latest news:

* ELLEN DEGENERES has bailed on plans to bring her show to New York City next week. Striking writers had promised to show up and protest her decision to remain on the air during the work stoppage. Instead of appearing in the Big Apple, DeGeneres will continue to tape at her studio in Burbank, California. Though DeGeneres, who is a member of the Writers Guild, has come under fire for continuing to tape her show, Telepictures, which produces The Ellen DeGeneres Show, has released a statement saying she's contractually obligated to make original episodes since hers is a syndicated program and not owned by a network.

* According to the Hollywood Reporter, employees of The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson will continue to be paid through the end of the year, even if the strike is still going on at that time. Both late night programs are owned by DAVID LETTERMAN'S Worldwide Pants production company. The decision would make the production company the first and only to hand out paychecks during the strike. According to the Hollywood Reporter, checks will continue to be distributed in order to reassure employees worried about bringing in an income during the strike.

* Fox has elected to continue making new episodes of Family Guy without creator and executive producer SETH MACFARLANE, who is taking part in the strike. Several episodes that MacFarlane had already begun working on will be completed without him, the first of which is slated to air this Sunday. The last new episode done completely with MacFarlane aired last Sunday. It will be particularly interesting to see how episodes without MacFarlane's input turn out, since he provides the voices of many primary characters, including Peter, Stewie and Brian.

* One area in which the writers' strike may not have an impact is coverage of awards shows -- at least not yet. This weekend's American Music Awards, hosted by JIMMY KIMMEL, should go on as scheduled. The show's producer, BARRY ADELMAN, says since everyone knew a strike was on the horizon, the ceremony was pre-written before the work stoppage began. Still, Adelman does admit any topical joke Jimmy Kimmel makes will probably be ad-libbed by him