Five of America’s most famous late-night comedy hosts are banding together to create a podcast to discuss the ins and outs of the ongoing Hollywood strikes, Spotify announced Tuesday.
The limited series podcast, titled “Strike Force Five,” launched Wednesday and features the voices of Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver.
“This past May, the hosts of five major late-night talk shows had an idea: to meet every week to discuss the complexities behind the ongoing Hollywood strikes,” the press release explained. “What ensued was a series of hilarious and compelling conversations.”
The comedians then partnered with Spotify to release these “once-private” conversations to the world.
In addition to raising awareness about the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which include both writers and actors, the show will donate all proceeds it makes to the out-of-work staff and crew on each of the late-night hosts’ 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.”
The series will run for at least 12 episodes, the statement said.
The five aren’t the only evening TV hosts to announce support for those on strike.
Ken Jennings will be taking on all hosting duties for the upcoming season of “Celebrity Jeopardy” as Mayim Bialik steps down in solidarity with the WGA, according to reporting by Variety.
Members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike since May to fight for a contract that meets their demands for better pay, success-based residuals for streaming content and regulations regarding the use of artificial intelligence.
Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists joined the strike in July to fight for higher pay and tighter regulations on the use of A.I. in creative projects. (Some CBS News staff are SAG-AFTRA members, but they work under a different contract than the actors and are not affected by the strike.)
“Strike Force Five” will be available to stream on any platform where podcasts are available.
