Stephen Colbert reunited with his talk show host pals Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver and Seth Meyers on Monday to announce a new project ahead of The Late Show’s May 21 finale.
The five talk show titans had previously teamed up in 2023 to tape a 12-episode hit Megaphone podcast Strike Force Five, which helped provide funds to their out-of-work staff amid the WGA/SAG–AFTRA strikes.
‘It was very successful. People seemed to really love it. We sold T-shirts,’ Kimmel recalled. ‘We’ll do another episode tonight after the show, right?’
Colbert confirmed: ‘We’re going to do an emergency episode of Strike Force Five. That’s right.’
Kimmel, whose ABC show was suspended for three days last September, replied: ‘This will be for you.’
Stephen Colbert (center) reunited with his talk show show host pals – (from L-R) Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver and Seth Meyers – on Monday to announce a new project ahead of The Late Show’s May 21 finale
The 58-year-old comedian wasn’t kidding as the new Strike Force Five episode is set to premiere this Wednesday, which just so happens to be Colbert’s 62nd birthday.
All of the podcast’s proceeds will benefit the World Central Kitchen, an international nonprofit founded in 2010 by Chef José Andrés, which provides meals during humanitarian crises.
Colbert admitted ‘tensions were rising’ and they had ‘run out of things to say to each other’ by the time the original podcast had ended, and he challenged Oliver to choose which one of them would ‘win in a fight.’
‘It depends, are we talking Muay Thai? Is this a battle of wits?’ the 49-year-old Englishman asked.
‘If you’re allowed to take off a velvet glove and slap someone across the face with it and demand satisfaction, I think I’m in with a shot. If it’s what I would call “rough and tumble” no thank you.’
Kimmel chimed in: ‘I think John wins and I’ll tell you why. First of all, he’s downplaying his physical abilities. Secondly, his wife was in the military.’
Indeed, Oliver is married to Kate Norley, a US Army medic and Iraq War veteran, whom he originally met at the 2008 Republican National Convention before marrying three years later.
‘So you know it gets wild in bed, right?’ the Man Show alum noted. ‘As in, just living with her.’
‘That is a good point,’ the investigative journalist agreed. ‘She will not let any of you hurt me.’
Colbert shockingly announced on July 17 that Paramount/CBS would not be renewing his contract after 11 years on the air, and they would end the late-night program after 44 years on the air.
The five talk show titans had previously teamed up in 2023 to tape a 12-episode hit Megaphone podcast Strike Force Five, which helped provide funds to their out-of-work staff amid the WGA/SAG–AFTRA strikes
‘It was very successful. People seemed to really love it. We sold T-shirts,’ Kimmel (L) recalled. ‘We’ll do another episode tonight after the show, right?’
Colbert confirmed: ‘We’re going to do an emergency episode of Strike Force Five. That’s right’
Kimmel – whose ABC show was suspended for three days last September – replied: ‘This will be for you’
The 58-year-old comedian (R) wasn’t kidding as the new Strike Force Five episode is set to premiere this Wednesday, which just so happens to be The Daily Show alum’s 62nd birthday
All of the podcast’s proceeds will benefit the World Central Kitchen, an international nonprofit founded in 2010 by Chef José Andrés, which provides meals during humanitarian crises
Colbert admitted ‘tensions were rising’ and they had ‘run out of things to say to each other’ by the time the original podcast had ended (pictured in 2023), and he challenged Oliver to choose which one of them would ‘win in a fight’
‘Is this a battle of wits?’ the 49-year-old Englishman asked. ‘If you’re allowed to take off a velvet glove and slap someone across the face with it and demand satisfaction, I think I’m in with a shot. If it’s what I would call “rough and tumble” no thank you’
At the time, the network claimed it was ‘purely a financial decision,’ but the cancellation came days after the devout Catholic called Paramount/CBS’s $16 million lawsuit settlement with President Donald Trump ‘a big fat bribe.’
Paramount was also in the midst of a multibillion-dollar merger with the movie studio Skydance, which requires the government approval of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
‘I will tell you when I got knocked off the air for a few days. People canceled Disney+,’ Kimmel noted.
‘Why aren’t you people canceling Paramount+? Because you didn’t have it in the first place? [laughs]’
Ahead of the taping, all four guests rolled up to the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, and Fallon clutched two bottles of champagne in his hands.
Former Late Show host David Letterman, Tom Hanks, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Pedro Pascal are among A-listers set to appear in its final days.
The tributes have already rolled in as 51-year-old Fallon previously appeared as a guest on March 5 to belt out an over-the-top rendition of Frank Sinatra’s 1969 song My Way.
On October 14, Bette Midler serenaded Colbert with a special song to the melody of her hit Wind Beneath My Wings.
Kimmel chimed in: ‘I think John wins and I’ll tell you why. First of all, he’s downplaying his physical abilities. Secondly, his wife was in the military’
Indeed, Oliver is married to Kate Norley (pictured September 14), a US Army medic and Iraq War veteran, whom he originally met at the 2008 Republican National Convention before marrying three years later
‘That is a good point,’ the investigative journalist agreed. ‘She will not let any of you hurt me’
Colbert shockingly announced on July 17 that Paramount/CBS would not be renewing his contract after 11 years on the air, and they would end the late-night program after 44 years on the air
Ahead of the taping, all four guests rolled up to the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City
Fallon clutched two bottles of Giuseppe Quintarelli Ca’ del Merlo in his hands
Former Late Show host David Letterman, Tom Hanks, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Pedro Pascal (not pictured) are among A-listers set to appear in its final days
Luckily, the 10-time Emmy winner secured a post-cancellation gig penning a new Lord of the Rings film for Warner Bros. with his 27-year-old son Peter McGee and Philippa Boyens, which was announced on Tolkein Reading Day March 25
John Lithgow performed a ‘special poem’ for the DC-born, South Carolina–raised comic titled ‘The Mighty Colbert’ on the March 9th episode.
One line went, ‘You stand for what’s right with wit and class,’ and was rhymed with ‘You never kissed the orange a**’ – a reference to Trump amid claims his administration played a part in Colbert’s cancellation.
Colbert held hands and swapped seats with Oprah Winfrey during the April 7th episode
Last Tuesday saw the 10-time Emmy winner welcome former President Barack Obama to the show, and his Colbert Questionnaire airs this Wednesday.
Luckily, Colbert secured a post-cancellation gig penning a new Lord of the Rings film for Warner Bros. with his 27-year-old son Peter McGee and Philippa Boyens, which was announced on Tolkien Reading Day, March 25.
