No, there was a technicality actors like Conan etc were still contractually obligated to perform, and the only way they could avoid the picket lines was by not using scripts. So they couldn't write anything unless they hired scabs (which Conan said they weren't going to do). Instead of hiring scabs, Conan improvised.. Conan’s writers’ strike episodes only happened because NBC pretty much forced him back on to avoid layoffs to the non-writing staff—and that only happened because Letterman’s production company reached an interim agreement with the WGA, so Dave and Craig came back fully writered-up.

The notable exception was Ellen who famously hired scabs immediately