Late-Night TV Hosts Join Forces for Podcast Benefiting WGA Writers Strike Affected Staff
Five prominent late-night TV hosts – Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver – have come together for a limited-series podcast called “Strike Force Five.” The podcast is set to discuss the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) writers strike, which is entering its fifth month. The podcast proceeds will be directed towards the staff of their respective shows that have been suspended due to the strike.
Launching on August 30th, “Strike Force Five” will be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other major podcast platforms. The limited series will consist of at least 12 episodes, with each host participating in every episode while taking turns as the conversation leader.
The idea for the podcast emerged when the five talk show hosts, who found themselves unemployed due to the strike, began holding Zoom meetings to discuss the implications of the work stoppage. These discussions evolved into a series of engaging and humorous conversations, prompting the hosts to share their private chats through the podcast.
The proceeds generated from “Strike Force Five” will be channeled to the staff members who are currently out of work on the respective shows – “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” and “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.” Some of these hosts had already committed to paying their teams for a few weeks during the strike.
Distribution of the series will be handled by Spotify’s Megaphone, and Spotify will exclusively manage the sales aspect of the podcast. Notably, co-presenting sponsors for “Strike Force Five” include Ryan Reynolds’ Mint Mobile and alcoholic beverage company Diageo, which encompasses brands such as Aviation American Gin, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, Casamigos, and Ketel One Vodka.
In a separate move, Spotify also secured a deal with Trevor Noah, the former host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” for a forthcoming weekly current-events and interview podcast, set to debut later this year across multiple platforms.
