- The Washington Times - Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Late-night hosts have found their own way to support striking actors and writers: podcasting.

The five biggest late-night comics, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Seth Meyers, this week announced they will launch a podcast dubbed “Strike Force Five.”

The limited-run podcast was set to drop Wednesday on Spotify and run for a tentative 12 episodes. The shows will feature roundtable discussions from the five hosts, with proceeds supporting the striking writers of their respective shows. 

The battle between the Writers Guild of America and the Hollywood studios has killed late-night comedy. Hosts often have little to do when their writers are on the picket lines. The shows went dark when the strike started in May.

The striking writers, much like the striking Screen Actors Guild members, have been demanding better pay, improvements to residuals, and changes to how artificial intelligence is used in the entertainment industry.

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.

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