Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert & More Late-Night Hosts Team Up for Spotify Podcast Benefiting Striking Writers

As the Hollywood strikes continue, five of the most popular late-night talk show hosts had an idea to meet up every week to discuss the complexities behind the ongoing discussions and protests.

As a result, Spotify revealed on Tuesday (Aug. 29) that it is teaming up with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver for a new limited-series podcast, called Strike Force Five. The series, which will run for at least 12 episodes, will launch Aug. 30 and feature the hosts’ insights, opinions and, of course, humor to the show as they navigate the Hollywood strikes. The series will be hosted on Spotify’s Megaphone, with Spotify as the exclusive sales partner.

All proceeds the hosts earn from Strike Force Five will go toward out-of-work staff of the hosts’ respective shows as the strike continues, including 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. 

The ongoing Writers Guild of America strike has been affecting TV series, late night talk shows and awards shows since May 1, after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed to produce a new deal. “While company profits have remained high and spending on content has grown, writers are falling behind,” the WGA said in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “The companies have used the transition to streaming to cut writer pay and separate writing from production, worsening working conditions for series writers at all levels. On TV staffs, more writers are working at minimum regardless of experience, often for fewer weeks, or in mini-rooms, while showrunners are left without a writing staff to complete the season. And while series budgets have soared over the past decade, median writer-producer pay has fallen.”

Listen to the Strike Force Five introduction trailer below.