The third season of BBC America’s hit late-night talk series The Graham Norton Show is now almost half over, but the big-name guests are still showing up regularly.

Tonight at 10pm EST, host Norton will welcome the latest veteran actress to grace his stage, the one and only Susan Sarandon. I have no doubt the New York native will be able to keep up with his trademark raunchy improvisation and banter, so the appearance is definitely one worth looking forward to.

Also stopping by are English comedian Jon Culshaw, who has a knack for impressions, and musical guest The Feeling, a British soft rock band. Check out photos from the episode after the jump

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As everyone in the United States knows, the long-awaited film version of Sex and the City opened in theaters yesterday. Fans of the series will get a treat tonight when star Cynthia Nixon pays a visit on the latest episode of BBC America’s The Graham Norton Show.

Also on the schedule are English comedian David Mitchell (Peep Show, That Mitchell and Webb Look) and American rockers One Republic. Check your local television guide for air times either before or after taking a look at the following stills from the episode.

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If you have cable network BBC America and want a change of pace tonight, I highly recommend checking out an all-new episode of the fab Graham Norton Show.

For those who aren’t familiar with Norton, the popular late-night host is an Irish comedian and actor who’s gained a tremendous, deserved following for his always entertaining and often raunchy (or “cheeky,” as they say in the United Kingdom) humor.

His BBC America series has a format familiar to fans of the genre — the requisite monologues, improvised bits, and, of course, interviews with tons of people famous and not even close.

What differentiates The Graham Norton Show from its American counterparts, aside from the talented host’s signature flamboyant style, is the flexibility he has on European television to introduce subjects that would give FFC members and network censors here fatal heart attacks on a regular basis. In other words, it has lots of the weird, off-the-wall — and, yes, sex-related — stuff that people really talk about when they’re hanging out with friends and family.

The third season of The Graham Norton Show just debuted stateside last Saturday, with Tony Curtis and Kevin Bacon as guests. Norton welcomes another great group tonight, as well, including entertainment veteran Martin Sheen (The West Wing).

Irish comedian Ed Byne shares the couch with the actor, while Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas will be joined by Girls Aloud member Cheryl Cole to perform their new single “Heartbreaker.” Sounds like a good time to me.

Check out a few photos from the episode after the jump to get a better look at what’s in store, and also visit the BBC America website for The Graham Norton Show to watch exclusive video clips and see more photos.

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This is just a quickie reminder that as of tonight, Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O’Brien will all be returning to their respective late-night talk shows to produce fresh episodes for the New Year. Although Ferguson’s Late Late Show will present a new installment with no guests, the remaining hosts will put on shows featuring an assortment of celebrities.

Tomorrow’s Late Late Show will have something to offer in the way of famous people, however, such as former Lost star Dominic Monaghan and magician Jason Randal. Meanwhile, over on basic cable’s Comedy Central, Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert’s The Colbert Report are due back next Monday, January 7.

Keep in mind, too, that the quality of the individual shows is likely to vary as only Letterman and Ferguson have an agreement with the Writers Guild of America that will allow their writers to pen original material. I, for one, can’t wait to see how this fact will impact the overall entertainment value for viewers.

Here’s who’ll be occupying the other late-night couches tonight:

Jimmy Kimmel Live

• Helio Castroneves
• Andy Dick
• Kid Rock

Late Night with Conan O’Brien

• Robert Gordon and Chris Spedding
• Dwayne Perkins
• Bob Saget

Late Show with David Letterman

• Hillary Clinton
• Lupe Fiasco
• Robin Williams

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

• Chingy
• Governor Mike Huckabee

Today’s breaking news comes just in time to infuse the weekend with loads of joy and anticipation. After finally striking an interim deal with the Writers Guild of America, Worldwide Pants, the production company that David Letterman owns, announced today that both the Late Show with David Letterman and the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson will return to the CBS airwaves next Wednesday, fully prepared and authorized to carry on as always.

Letterman expressed his understandable relief and appreciation with the comment, “I am grateful to the WGA for granting us this agreement. This is not a solution to the strike, which unfortunately continues to disrupt the lives of thousands. But I hope it will be seen as a step in the right direction.”

Well, the development is certainly a move in the right direction for the two CBS shows because only they will now be able to produce fresh material. All of the other late-night yakkers are forbidden to incorporate newly written content into their own shows since they have no similar agreement with the WGA.

And the strike havoc continues with a brief respite of exceedingly good news…

I hate to be a holiday spoilsport on Christmas Eve, but the truth is out there and must be reported. David Letterman’s production company Worldwide Pants failed to strike a deal with the Writers Guild of America when they met last Friday. The main purpose of the talks was to reach an agreement enabling Letterman and his fellow Worldwide Pants late-night host Craig Ferguson to return to the air soon with writers in tow creating fresh material.

Consequently, as of now, there remains no official guarantee that CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson will resume broadcasting new episodes in early January 2008 along with ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.

That’s not the end of the story, though. There’s some cause for optimism since both sides announced that their discussions will resume this week after Christmas. Better a late Christmas present than none at all.

Talk about an early Christmas present. Late-night comedy fans have a whole lot to get excited about these days now that Comedy Central talking heads Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will join their brethren on broadcast television for an early-January return to the airwaves.

That’s right, you heard/read me correctly. Broadcasting & Cable reports that both The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report will begin airing fresh installments on Monday, January 7, just five days after the scheduled January 2 resumption of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live and NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. All five of the shows will still be at a decided disadvantage in the laughs department, however, since none will have writers onboard to help concoct the funny stuff. Enter masterful David Letterman.

In the near future, look for news that CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson will be coming back too, as soon as/if Letterman’s production company Worldwide Pants, which owns both shows, cuts a deal with the striking Writers Guild of America. The upshot for fans of those two shows is that if the arrangement Worldwide Pants wants is agreed upon, the CBS chatters would have their writers to create fresh material for viewers, an obvious advantage for the Eye Network.

The late-night talk-show hosts are returning to their gigs like all get out. First, it was Conan O’Brien issuing a statement Monday regarding his plans to resume Late Night with Conan O’Brien on Wednesday, January 2. Jay Leno’s statement then followed within a nanosecond, alerting the public that The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will resume on the very same date.

Now that NBC’s post-primetime schedule is entirely intact again for the early New Year, here comes word from ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday evening that his early-morning gabfest Jimmy Kimmel Live will get back to business on January 2, as well. The three-sentence (he’s not a man of many words these days, is he?) announcement follows.

Though it makes me sick to do so without my writers, there are more than a hundred people whose financial well-being depends on our show. It is time to go back to work. I support my colleagues and friends in the WGA completely and hope this ends both fairly and soon.

Sounds pretty much like the same song and dance that his NBC colleagues offered, although O’Brien at least had the consideration to put together three whole paragraphs as opposed to just three redundant sentences—or four in the case of Leno.

So, tell me? If non-Writers Guild member Carson Daly is a scab, as so many were quick to label him, does that mean Writers Guild members O’Brien, Leno, and now Kimmel are, too? And how about David Letterman and his fellow ABC/Worldwide Pants yakker Craig Ferguson, yet two more union men, who’ll inevitably be returning sooner rather than later? Or does less talent give people more of a right to point fingers at the creatively-challenged? Hmmm…

If you want to know how some individuals with very strong opinions about the strike feel, just take a gander at the comments on the recent Deadline Hollywood Daily post “WGA Reminds Returning Jay And Conan: No Monologues.” [Warning: The commenters use strong language liberally]

And following swiftly on Conan O’Brien’s heels is Jay Leno with the following statement released this morning regarding the return of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to the airwaves on January 2, 2008.

This has been a very difficult six weeks for everybody affected by the writers strike. I was, like most people, hoping for a quick resolution when this began. I remained positive during the talks and while they were still at the table discussing a solution “The Tonight Show” remained dark in support of our writing staff. Now that the talks have broken down and there are no further negotiations scheduled I feel it’s my responsibility to get my 100 non-writing staff, which were laid off, back to work. We fully support our writers and I think they understand my decision.

Late-night chat show fans, host Conan O’Brien issued a statement earlier today indicating that his NBC series Late Night with Conan O’Brien will return to the air with new episodes starting the second day of the New Year. Here’s what the man himself had to say in his own, I presume, words.

For the past seven weeks of the writers’ strike, I have been and continue to be an ardent supporter of the WGA and their cause. My career in television started as a WGA member and my subsequent career as a performer has only been possible because of the creativity and integrity of my writing staff. Since the strike began, I have stayed off the air in support of the striking writers while, at the same time, doing everything I could to take care of the 80 non-writing staff members on Late Night.

Unfortunately, now with the New Year upon us, I am left with a difficult decision. Either go back to work and keep my staff employed or stay dark and allow 80 people, many of whom have worked for me for fourteen years, to lose their jobs. If my show were entirely scripted I would have no choice. But the truth is that shows like mine are hybrids, with both written and non-written content. An unwritten version of Late Night, though not desirable, is possible - and no one has to be fired.

So, it is only after a great deal of thought that I have decided to go back on the air on January 2nd. I will make clear, on the program, my support for the writers and I’ll do the best version of Late Night I can under the circumstances. Of course, my show will not be as good. In fact, in moments it may very well be terrible. My sincerest hope is that all of my writers are back soon, working under a contract that provides them everything they deserve.

O’Brien’s decision to return to the air has quite a bit more significance than Carson Daly’s choice to do the same on November 27, if only because O’Brien has acquired more respect and longevity in the industry. What will all of the critics who’ve been bashing Daly day in and day out say now?