This is framed as a beautiful brotherhood moment—the five late-night titans coming together to celebrate their friend Stephen Colbert's legendary run. The World Central Kitchen partnership keeps the charitable angle front and center, proving these hosts still care about giving back even while having fun.
Insiders are whispering that this reunion feels less like celebration and more like a coordinated PR blitz. With Colbert's show ending May 21 and ratings concerns swirling, the timing of this 'emergency' episode reeks of damage control. Plus, Jimmy Kimmel going dark that same night? That's not deference—that's an escape route.
The Late Show series finale is May 21, 2026. The original Strike Force Five podcast launched in May 2023 during the WGA strike and produced exactly 12 episodes before going dormant. Kimmel announced he'd air a repeat episode May 21 'out of deference to Colbert's sendoff,' per Deadline.
Call it a tribute all you want, but when five network hosts suddenly rally around one departing colleague with an 'emergency' podcast drop, the optics scream panic, not nostalgia. CBS is losing their franchise player, and this feels like the late-night cavalry arriving too little, too late.
Well, well, well—looks like the late-night boys' club is pulling out all the stops. Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver announced during a joint appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that they're dropping an emergency new video episode of their defunct Strike Force Five podcast, releasing May 13. "Emergency @strikeforcefive episode loading! ⚡," Colbert and Kimmel posted to Instagram, complete with lightning bolt emoji because nothing says urgency like a coordinated social media campaign.
The timing is... interesting, shall we say? This special video drop is explicitly "in honor of" The Late Show's impending series finale on May 21. That's less than two weeks away, CBS.
Colbert has been at the network's late-night helm since 2015, and now we're supposed to believe this reunion just conveniently materialized out of brotherly love? Please. When five of the most competitive people in television suddenly play nice on one stage, someone's pushing strings.
For those who missed it first time around: Strike Force Five was born in May 2023 when the WGA strike hit and all five hosts found themselves suddenly unemployed. They started meeting weekly on Zoom—because what else do you do when you can't write jokes?—and out came twelve installments of candid, sometimes hilarious chats that kept their names relevant while Hollywood ground to a halt. The revenue from those episodes went directly to supporting their out-of-work staff.
This new episode continues that charitable tradition, with proceeds benefiting World Central Kitchen, the international nonprofit that provides meals during humanitarian crises. That's genuinely admirable, but let's not pretend charity is why Netflix—sorry, I mean CBS—is scrambling for this sendoff. And here's where it gets juicier: Kimmel revealed he'll air a repeat episode May 21, going dark that Thursday "out of deference to Colbert's sendoff." Out of deference?
Or out of avoiding the awkward ratings comparison? The guy who's been hosting ABC's late-night slot since 2003 is deliberately NOT competing with his CBS counterpart on the same night. That's not respect—that's strategic cowardice.
Meanwhile, David Letterman, Colbert's predecessor and a living late-night legend, will pop up on Thursday's episode as the ceremonial passing of the torch. One has to wonder what Letterman thinks about all this fanfare for someone he's never publicly endorsed. Audiences can stream the new Strike Force Five taping on Spotify, its YouTube channel, and wherever podcasts are found—because when you're mounting a media blitz, you go everywhere at once.
The question no one's asking aloud: is this heartfelt tribute or elaborate exit strategy? We'll find out May 21 whether Colbert's finale is a celebration or a eulogy for an era.
