On December 17, 2007, NBC announced that Jay Leno would resume production of his show on January 2, 2008, regardless if the ongoing Writers Guild Strike was over by then.
Leno stated it was his "responsibility" to resume production of The Tonight Show when talks between the WGA and the AMPTP stalled in December 2007.3 He, along with fellow NBC late-night host Conan O'Brien, returned to their respective shows the following month.
Leno was criticized by the WGA after his first episode back. According to the guild, Leno violated its rules when he wrote his own monologue for the show. Leno and NBC argued that the WGA agreement allowed him to write for himself.4
Meanwhile, Leno's CBS rival David Letterman managed to strike an interim agreement with the WGA, thereby allowing him to return with his writers on January 2. Leno still beat Letterman in the ratings by a margin of 1.7 million viewers.4