David Letterman is so eager to get back to work that he is pursuing a deal with Writers Guild of America which could get his late-night show airing on CBS way sooner than you think.

According to the New York Times, Letterman’s production company WorldWide Pants, which fully owns both "Late Show" and "Late, Late Show," is in negotiations with the WGA aiming to score a pact that would put "The Late Show with David Letterman" back on the air with its entire staff, including the writers, as soon as January even though the writer's strike carries on.

"Since the beginning of the strike, we have expressed our willingness to sign an interim agreement with the Guild consistent with its positions in this dispute," Worldwide Pants CEO Rob Burnett said in a statement released Saturday. "We're happy that the Guild has now adopted an approach that might make this possible. It is our strong desire to be back on the air with our writers and we hope that will happen as soon as possible."

Writers for many television shows began their strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, on November 5 demanding compensation for programs, movies and other content streamed or downloaded over the Internet.

Talks ended last week after the AMPTP, insisted it would not continue negotiating unless the WGA dropped proposals that included authority to unionize writers on reality shows and animation projects.

Despite the fact that CBS has much to gain from a Letterman return with scribes, the network’s response to his possible return was lukewarm.

"We respect the intent of Worldwide Pants to serve the interests of its independent production company and its employees by seeking this interim agreement with the WGA," CBS spokesman Chris Ender said in a statement Saturday.

"However, this development should not confuse the fact that CBS remains unified with the AMPTP and committed to working with the member companies to reach a fair and reasonable agreement with the WGA that positions everyone in our industry for success in a rapidly changing marketplace."