NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike is still ongoing with no current end in sight. SAG-AFTRA’s strike rules call for actors to not do publicity for work made by struck companies, and perhaps even more critical, WGA members are unable to write material for hosts and actors – leaving everything off the cuff or shut down completely.
TV’s late-night talk shows were among the first to go off the air when the strike began in May, therefore putting the writers, staff and the hosts themselves out of work. The talk show hosts have been meeting weekly in private to discuss the complexities of the strike and what it has meant to their employees who are still out of work.
The talk-show host rivals – Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert and John Oliver have decided to band together for a Spotify podcast called Strike Force Five. All proceeds received by the hosts from the podcast will go to out of work staff from each of the hosts’ 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.
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
The first episode launches tonight (August 30) and will be available across most major platforms. Strike Force Five will run for at least twelve episodes, with each host serving as a rotating moderator. Spotify’s Megaphone will host the series, with Spotify alone as the exclusive sales partner. Mint Mobile and Diageo were the first to come aboard to support the show as co-presenting sponsors.
