What neither host mentions is something else Leno and Kimmel currently share — difficulty booking guests. Both shows are being picketed by the Writers Guild of America, and most actors (including the stars late-night talk shows use to build ratings) won't cross the picket lines.

About the biggest star Leno can get on his show is, well, Kimmel. And about the biggest star Kimmel can get on his show is, well, Leno.

Conan O'Brien is having the same problem. And it must be said, all three of them went back to work to preserve the jobs of the hundreds of nonwriters who work on their shows — jobs that were threatened by their respective networks, which own "Tonight," "Late Night" and "Live."

There are no such problems over on CBS, where David Letterman's Worldwide Pants production company negotiated a separate deal with the WGA — meaning both the "Late Show" and "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson" don't have picket lines for actors to worry about crossing.

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