David Letterman and Craig Ferguson come back on CBS

"Late Show with David Letterman" and "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" will be back with their writers airing joke-filled new hours starting Wednesday, the shows' production company, Worldwide Pants, announced Friday.

Photo: David Letterman and Craig Ferguson come back on CBS

An interim agreement between the Letterman-owned company and the Writers Guild of America will allow the full writing staffs for both shows to return to work, even as the Hollywood writers strike continues to shutter much TV and movie production. Both of those CBS late-night shows have been airing reruns since the strike began eight weeks ago, the AP reports.

David Michael Letterman is an award-winning American comedian, late night talk show host, television producer, philanthropist, and IRL IndyCar Series car owner. His first major success occurred on the long-running NBC television program, Late Night with David Letterman, before moving to CBS in 1993 to his current place on the Late Show.

In 1969, Letterman married Michelle Cook; the marriage ended in 1977. He also had a long-term relationship with former head writer and producer on Late Night, Merrill Markoe. Letterman has one son together with his longtime girlfriend Regina Lasko, Harry Joseph, born November 3, 2003. Harry is named for Letterman's father, Harry Joseph Letterman. They currently reside in North Salem, New York.

Letterman's ironic, often absurd comedy is heavily influenced by former Tonight Show hosts Steve Allen, Johnny Carson and Jack Paar.

Craig Ferguson is a Scottish comedian, actor, writer and talk show host. He is the current host of CBS's The Late Late Show, a role which earned him an Emmy nomination in 2006.

In December 2004, it was announced that Ferguson would be the successor to Craig Kilborn on CBS's The Late Late Show. His first show as the regular host aired on January 4, 2005. The Late Late Show averaged 2.0 million viewers in its 2007 season, compared with 2.5 million for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Initially, Ferguson opened the shows with a scripted monologue, as done on most late night talk shows. Later, Ferguson (who introduces himself to his audiences as "TV's Craig Ferguson") began improvising his monologues. The monologues often include self-deprecating jokes about his past experience with alcoholism, his two divorces, and his late night time slot. He starts his monologues with the sentence "It's a great day for America, everybody...". He also calls his audience various nicknames such as "frisky little badgers", "naughty monkeys", or "cheeky monkeys" (accompanied by various sounds from a sound effects machine). The monologue is usually followed by various comedy routines done from his desk, such as checking his voice mail, writing a letter, and reading viewer e-mail.