Aieeee! I know, I know! I loves me some Daily Show, and Jon is num-nummers and I respect him bunches…but what’s going on?
So here’s what I know:
The WGA is on strike. Pens down. No writey-writey.
Jon Stewart’s show, The Daily Show, is coming back on air in January, strike ending or no. The WGA has described this as Stewart being “forced” back on-air.
Here’s what I *think *I know:
Jon Stewart is a member of the WGA.
Jon Stewart is coming back on camera with his show.
The nighttime talk shows were not, for some reason, covered in the WGA strike-zone, but were (are) striking in solidarity. Or maybe it was just the on-camera talent? Or something?
Here’s what I absolutely don’t know:
Is Stewart able to come back on-air but not write? Is that his intention? Does his acting gig “count” as crossing the picket line, if he doesn’t write? (I’m pretty clear that if he does write, as a WGA member, we’re into icky I-don’t-respect-him-anymore territory.)
I know most hosts, especially the interviewing kind of host, do come up with SOME (not all, or maybe even most) of their stuff on the spot. Their big questions may be scripted, but follow-up questions, responses, etc. may be improvised. How much of that can be done and not be considered “writing”? There must be rules about this, or the WGA would be absolutely toothless to prevent non-union writing, right?