Stephen Colbert invited his "best television friends," fellow late night hosts John Oliver, Seth Meyers and the two Jimmies— Kimmel and Fallon— to join him as his show on CBS/ Paramount Plus winds down. One of Colbert's final episodes was a reunion of the Strike Force Five, which is what the hosts have called themselves and the name of the podcast they hosted together three years ago.
"Late night is in a bit of a weird spot right now — spoiler alert," Colbert said. "The five of us being here right now, obviously, it's dangerous because we represent so much of late night. Jon Stewart is designated survivor. Someone has to survive for the president to be mad at," referencing the frequent host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show.
Colbert's final show will air on May 21; CBS canceled him months ago, citing financial reasons. But many fans think the reason is political, as Colbert has continuously skewered President Trump. He spent most of his monologue last night making fun of Trump.
During last night's show, Kimmel called out fans for not reacting to Colbert's cancellation by ditching their subscriptions to Paramount Plus.
"When I got knocked off the air for a few days, people canceled Disney+," quipped Kimmel, who was temporarily taken off the air by Disney and ABC amidst conservative backlash over comments he made in the aftermath of the assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. During his monologue, soon after, Kimmel said the "MAGA gang" was trying to score political points from the Kirk killing.
More recently, President Trump called for Kimmel to be canceled after the host made what Kimmel described as a "light roast" about first lady Melania Trump.
Colbert asked the group to make the case for late night shows to still exist. He asked them, "when you were starting out in comedy, did it ever occur to you that you'd be doing a job that the president of the United States would have strong feelings about?"
"You know what's even weirder?" Kimmel responded. "Doing a job that his wife has strong feelings about."
During the discussion about the president's attention to late night shows, Meyers joked, "The thing I like is that he always posts when the show actually airs. And I do wanna say I appreciate that he is watching linear television."
Last night's episode had a bit of the kibbitzing flavor of Strike Force Five, the podcast they created while on strike with the Writers Guild of America against major studios in 2023. It went on for 12 episodes, with proceeds going to the staffers of Colbert's show, as well as Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
At the end of his show, Colbert announced Strike Force Five will be together again for an "emergency" podcast — on video — May 13.
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