Letterman cuts deal

He's back on the air next Wednesday - with writers. The Writers Guild has cut a deal with his Worldwide Pants production company that covers both his own show and "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson," according to the LAT blog Show Tracker. It's the first such deal the guild has struck and will put the screws on the other talk show hosts - Leno, Conan, John Stewart and Stephen Colbert - who also return to work Wednesday but without writers. They're stuck because, unlike Letterman, their shows are owned by the networks. Besides writers, Letterman will have access to guests who wouldn't want to cross picket lines to appear on the other shows.