Posted in: ABC, Audio Dramas, CBS, HBO, NBC, TV | Tagged: Episode 1, jimmy fallon, jimmy kimmel, John Oliver, Seth Meyers, spotify, stephen colbert, strike force five

Strike Force Five Ep. 1: Retiring, Affleck/Damon, Colbert's Mom & More

The first episode of Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers & John Oliver's Strike Force Five has officially dropped.

Earlier this week, we learned that late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver were teaming up with Spotify for the all-new limited series Strike Force Five. Expected to run at least 12 episodes, the episodes were recorded back in May as the five shared their thoughts on a number of factors at play regarding the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. But here's the best part, folks! All of the proceeds from the podcast will go to the out-of-work staff from shows such as CBS's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers, and HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Well, today saw the first episode released – an episode that we have embedded for you below to make your lives easier. But just in case you need some convincing via some highlights of what you can expect, then please make sure to read on…

Strike Force Five Episode 1 Highlights

Kimmel shared that other late-night hosts were "mad" that David Letterman & Craig Ferguson were able to return to the air with their staffs earlier than everyone else back in 2008. How? Letterman's Worldwide Pants cut a separate deal with the WGA (an idea that's been rumbling around in 2023, too).

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon offered to cover Kimmel's staff for two weeks ("Ben Affleck and the despicable Matt Damon contacted me and offered to pay our staff for two weeks, a week each, they wanted to pay out of their own pockets. I did say no, but I felt that was not their responsibility": Kimmel), while Ryan Reynolds offered to sponsor his staff's cell phone needs for a year via Reynolds' Mint Mobile (a podcast co-sponsor).

Though he signed a three-year extension with ABC in 2022, Kimmel reveals that he considered retiring from late-night – with the strike seemingly changing his perspective on things. "I was very intent on retiring right around the time the strike started, and now I realize it's nice to work; when you are working, you think about not working," Kimmel shared. "I was very, very serious. I enjoy getting summers off, and you don't get them off. I like getting the summer off when I'm getting paid to have the summer off."

In a completely unrelated topic, we learn that Colbert's mother dated Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza (1967-1972; 1974 & 1979). That leads to some really great follow-up jokes that I don't want to spoil – but at one point, Oliver adds, "I was wondering what pull quote was going to get pulled out of this podcast. I didn't anticipate it would be 'Stephen Colbert's family is tangentially related to a Nicaraguan dictator.' But here we are."

Both Kimmel and Colbert were up for the announcing job on… wait for it… NBC Hall of Famer Earvin "Magic" Johnson's 1998 syndicated late-night effort, The Magic Hour – which would go on to run for approximately three months. "I was not even on TV at the time. I was a disc jockey, so being on television would have been a big deal – but that did not seem like it was going to be [a hit]," Kimmel revealed.

And that doesn't even come close to what else gets covered over the course of the approximately one-hour-long episode – here's a chance to check it out, followed by the intro teaser that was released earlier this week:

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to watch a football team with five quarterbacks on the field at once? Introducing Strike Force Five!, hosted by Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver. All proceeds go to support their out-of-work staffs. Listen now, it's the right thing to do.

Hosted on Spotify's Megaphone (with the streaming platform serving as the exclusive sales partner), Strike Force Five is supported by Mint Mobile and Diageo (Aviation American Gin, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, Casamigos, and Ketel One Vodka), who are supporting the show as co-presenting sponsors.

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