The best late night talk shows are still off the air thanks to the ongoing Writers Guild of America Strike, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to hear any new material from their hosts. In fact, fans of late-night banter can now get the ultimate fix by listening to “Strike Force Five,” an unprecedented podcast that teams up the current heavyweights of celebrity talk TV: Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Myers and John Oliver.
Late night unite! Your new favorite podcast Strike Force Five premieres tomorrow with all of our proceeds going to staff and crew affected by the ongoing writers strike. Check it out on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. pic.twitter.com/PQVgLEiftN
— Jimmy Fallon (@jimmyfallon) August 29, 2023
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The show is the result of the five stars getting together on Zoom calls during this hiatus of their shows, and the podcast isn’t just their backup creative outlet. All proceeds from “Strike Force Five” will go to support the writers and crew of their shows as the strike continues to leave them without work. The first episode premiered on Aug. 30, and the current plan is to air 12 shows. Listeners can tune in on Spotify, Apple Music and other major podcast outlets.
Members of the WGA have been on strike since May, holding out in hope of achieving better pay and safeguards against AI among other demands. Members of the actor’s guild SAG-AFTRA joined the strike in solidarity in July, and the resulting shortage has halted production and even the promotion of many popular shows and movies for the summer.
“Strike Force Five” is currently sitting at the top of the charts in terms of popularity among both Spotify and Apple listeners. The show is a breath of fresh air in many ways, as it shows how far things have come in late night since the infamous Jay Leno/David Letterman feuds of the early 1990s.
The five hosts seem to genuinely get along, which isn’t surprising given their history. Oliver and Colbert both rose to fame as correspondents on “The Daily Show” during John Stewart’s tenure, and Fallon and Meyers are beloved veterans of “Saturday Night Live.”
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