Production of the shows was halted after the Writers Guild of America, a union of over 11,000 movie and television writers, initiated their strike on May 2. Two months later, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), consisting of 160,000 performers, also joined the strike, resulting in a historic double strike that has brought Hollywood to a standstill.
Both organizations are striking over similar issues, including wages, residuals, and the use of artificial intelligence.
While performers and writers negotiate with studios for a resolution, “Strike Force Five” will provide support to the staff members of “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 podcast series is being sponsored by Mint Mobile, a phone service provider, and Diageo, a beverage company.
According to Spotify, the idea for the podcast came about in May when the five hosts started meeting weekly to discuss the strikes. The podcast will allow fans to “listen in on these once-private chats.”
Colbert, Fallon, Kimmel, Meyers, and Oliver will take turns as moderators, as stated by Spotify. The hosts have shown their support for the strike, including in segments that aired before the shows went on hiatus.
In a segment before his late-night show was halted, Meyers expressed gratitude for his staff and humorously remarked that strong writing is “essential to any show where the host, myself, is at best a C-plus performer.”
Meyers stated, “For those people who have a job in show business, they are entitled to fair compensation. They are entitled to make a living. I think it’s a very reasonable demand that is being set up by the guild, and I support those demands.”
In another segment in early May, Colbert also voiced his support for the writers’ demands, stating that they were “not unreasonable.” He jokingly added that without the writers, “The Late Show” would be named “The Late Show with a guy rambling about Lord of the Rings and boats for an hour.”
Colbert said, “I support collective bargaining. This nation owes so much to unions.”
The podcast’s trailer description likened listening to the podcast to watching a “football team with five quarterbacks on the field at once.” It urged fans to listen, stating that it’s “the right thing to do.”
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