Late night TV’s top personalities launch ‘Strike Force Five’ podcast to back striking employees
Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, and Jimmy Fallon are teaming up to launch a podcast called Strike Force Five. The podcast will focus on discussing the intricate details surrounding the ongoing Hollywood strikes. The hosts aim to support their out-of-work staff from their respective talk shows by donating all proceeds generated from the podcast.
“The hosts bring their unique insights, opinions and humor to the show as they navigate the Hollywood strikes and beyond,” a Spotify blog post reads. Five comedians direct the episodes in turn. Spotify’s Megaphone produces the series, and the streaming service is the podcast’s sole sales partner – but the series is not exclusive to the platform. “[It’s available] on Spotify or wherever you get podcasts,” Meyers said in a video Kimmel posted to X (formerly Twitter). “But Spotify, damn you,” Oliver stated aggressively.
The series begins on August 30 (day 120 of the strike, as noted by TVLine). It will last at least 12 episodes.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have been at odds with no discernible progress since the WGA went on strike on May 2nd. The WGA described the parties’ last meeting last week as more of a “lecture” than a negotiation. “We were met with a lecture on how good their one and only counteroffer was,” the WGA’s negotiating committee wrote to members. “But this was not a meeting to make a deal. This was a meeting to cave us in, which is why AMPTP released a summary of its proposals, not 20 minutes after leaving the meeting. This was the corporate plan from the beginning – not to work, but to stall us. It’s their only strategy – to bet that we will turn on each other.”
MAJOR LIFE UPDATE – for the remainder of the strike @StephenAtHome, @JimmyFallon, @SethMeyers, @IamJohnOliver & 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… pic.twitter.com/Czyvlpmba2
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) August 29, 2023
