Worldwide Pants, the independent production company of 'The Late Show with David Letterman', has reached a deal with The Writers Guild of America that allows guild members to write for the show despite the strike.
However, 'The Tonight Show' on NBC went to air without its writers, who are all members of The Writers Guild of America and remain on strike. Despite this, Leno still presented a full monologue that lasted for almost 10 minutes.
The shows suffered double-digit ratings drops after the strike began in early November.
Conan O'Brien's 'Late Night' also went to air without its writers, leaving O'Brien to improvise for parts of the show.
He had someone clock how long he could spin his wedding ring on his desk and made a running gag of sipping water from a mug, saying "That's good water", and adding "Killed some time".
'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' on Comedy Central is to return on Monday January 7 and has been unsuccessfully seeking to reach a deal, along with comedy rival 'The Colbert Report' with Stephen' Colbert.
The Golden Globe Awards remain under threat as its organisers, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have failed to reach a deal with The Writers Guild. It was hoping to reach a similar agreement to the one reached by 'The Late Show', because both shows are produced by an independent production company and neither is owned by the networks that broadcast them.
However, the Writers Guild has not agreed to any deal with the Globe's organisers and writers intend to form picket lines at the ceremony.
The actors union said it would also advise celebrity nominees and presenters to boycott the show.
The nominees for awards include Hugh Laurie for 'House', Minnie Driver for 'Riches', and Ricky Gervais for 'Extras', who has said he will not collect his award.
Alan Rosenberg, president of the Screen Actors Guild, said: "Unless and until there is an agreement between the WGA and HFPA, we will advise our members of their rights with respect to not crossing WGA picket lines and/or not appearing on programs using non-union writers."
The Writers Guild is looking to renegotiate its contract with the motion picture industry, demanding a greater share of profits when TV shows are repurposed as DVDs, mobile downloads and internet streams.
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