We reported that Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien are ready to return to late night television in January, but due to the writers’ strike, they will have to run their shows without writing talent. David Letterman hopes to return in January too – but he’s trying to strike a deal to get his writers back on board for the show’s return.

David Letterman is in the process of instituting an interim agreement during the writers’ strike that would allow his staff to return on January 2. Since Letterman’s Worldwide Pants production company owns “Late Show,” there is no issue with network ownership.

Rob Burnett, executive producer of both programs and head of Worldwide Pants, said in a statement, “We’re happy that the Guild has now adopted an approach that might make this possible. It is our strong desire to be back on the air with our writers and we hope that will happen as soon as possible.”