Back after a nine-week hiatus because of the writers’ strike, Jay Leno didn’t waste any time during his Tonight Show monologue Wednesday before making a joke about the ongoing labor dispute and the lack of writers helping him out with the show. "Folks, let’s get right to it. A Jew, a Christian, and a muslim walk into a bar. The Jew says to the Muslim…see I have no idea what they say because there’s a writer’s strike. We don’t know what they say.

"As you know, we are in the middle of this writers’ strike here in Hollywood. It’s already cost the town over a half billion dollars. Five hundred million dollars! Or as Paul McCartney calls that, `a divorce.’"

Leno’s monologue, which he admitted to writing himself with a little help from his wife, included various explanations for why he resumed production today. "We had to come back because we have essentially 19 [writers] putting 160 [crew] people out of work." He also said the public relies on his show for information they may not normally glean from the mainstream media. "For example, did you know that just three weeks ago, Idaho Senator Larry Craig married Britney Spears? Did you know that?’" he joked. "See, no one knew! This is the only place you will find that out."

Over at Late Night, Conan O’Brien joked about how the ongoing strike has forced Americans to "read books and occasionally even speak to one another" while leaving his show in the lurch when it comes to his more popular features. "My biggest wish is that they get a great deal very quickly and get back here because we desperately need them on the show.  Think about it: Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, The Masturbating Bear, The Walker Texas Ranger Lever – it’s all writing.  Well, not the Masturbating Bear.  That’s just instinct. " 

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced today that it hopes to hammer out an interim agreement with the Writers Guild of America so its annual Golden Globes ceremony can proceed on Jan. 13 without the threat of striking WGA scribes. According to a statement from HFPA president Jorge Camara, the Press Association began talking to the WGA on Dec. 29 after learning about the interim deal writers forged with David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants. That deal permits The Late Show with David Letterman (as well as The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson) to resume production today using WGA writers. "We feel that The Late Show with David Letterman agreement is very reasonable, and hope and expect the WGA will agree to the same terms and ultimately permit the Golden Globe Awards to be broadcast as scheduled, without picket lines, on Jan. 13," Camara said in the statement.

The WGA has threatened to picket the Globes if the ongoing labor dispute — now in its third month — were to continue through Jan. 13. Some actors expressed reservations about crossing the writers’ picket line for the awards ceremony, though the Screen Actors Guild has not said whether it would formally discourage thesps from attending.

HFPA’s Camara was confident that a deal could be worked out with the WGA because, like Worldwide Pants’ ownership of CBS‘ The Late Show, the HFPA owns the Golden Globes, not NBC, the network that will broadcast the ceremony (though the ceremony is produced by Dick Clark Prods, which must also agree to WGA terms). "We strongly support the WGA and the efforts they are making on behalf of writers, and applaud the fact that they have agreed to allow certain industry awards shows to move forward with WGA writers and be broadcast," Camara said in his statement. "Much like the Screen Actors Guild Awards and Film Independent’s Spirit Awards, we want to enter into an agreement with the WGA that will allow the entertainment industry to celebrate the outstanding work of creative individuals in addition to millions of fans nationwide.  It is only fair that we be afforded the same opportunity as these other awards shows." 

The WGA followed with this statement: "Dick Clark Prods. is a struck company. As previously announced, the Writers Guild will be picketing the Golden Globe Awards. The WGA has great respect and admiration for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, but we are engaged in a crucial struggle that will protect our income and intellectual property rights for generations to come. We will continue to do everything in our power to bring industry negotiations to a fair conclusion. In the meantime, we are grateful for the ongoing support of the Hollywood talent community."