'Strike Force Five,' premiering Aug. 30 on Spotify, will support the out-of-work writers of the late-night shows.
Five out-of-work late-night talk show hosts are banding together on a new project to benefit the writers on their staffs, who are currently not working because of the ongoing WGA strike.
Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver will launch the Strike Force Five podcast -- powered by Mint Mobile and Diageo -- Aug. 30 on Spotify.
The hosts of Late Night With Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night With Seth Meyers and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver will give all the proceeds to the writers who have not been working since May, when the WGA (Writers Guild of America) strike went into effect.
Strike Force Five was created after the men had a series of private Zoom calls every week to discuss the serious issues that surround work stoppage.
"What happened instead was a series of hilarious and compelling conversations. Now, Colbert, Fallon, Kimmel, Meyers and Oliver invite you to listen in on their once-private chats on this all-new podcast," a press release says.
Strike Force Five will have a limited 12-week run on Spotify.
"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to watch a football team with five quarterbacks on the field at once? Introducing Strike Force Five!, hosted by Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver. All proceeds go to support their out of work staffs," the official description for the podcast reads.
Kimmel took to Instagram to share the official trailer for the show and give his followers a look inside the making of the podcast.
"MAJOR LIFE UPDATE - for the remainder of the strike @StephenAtHome, @JimmyFallon, @SethMeyers, John Oliver & I are joining forces for a new podcast called @StrikeForceFive. Hear the first episode tomorrow 8/30. ALL proceeds (thanks to @Casamigos and @MintMobile) go to support our out of work staffs. LINK IN BIO," he wrote.
In May, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike after failing to reach an agreement with major Hollywood studios over fair compensation, particularly in the wake of the expansion of streaming services since the last major contract dispute in 2007. At that time, the union fought for greater funding for writers' rooms and DVD residuals.
All late-night shows went dark on the first day of the strike. Since then, the five men have shown support to their staffs by paying them out of pocket and providing ice cream and other food to writers on the picket line.
The last time the five men got together was in April, when they all participated in a bit on the final episode of The Late Late Show With James Corden, where they hilariously tried to keep him from saying goodbye to late-night TV.
Strike Force Five premieres Aug. 30 on Spotify.
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