Strike Force Five returns with episode 13

Podcast reunions are usually nostalgia plays. This one is doing a little more work than that. Strike Force Five — the late-night roundtable Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver launched during the 2023 writers strike — is back with a 13th episode dropping on May 13 after nearly three years off. But the reason for the return is different now. Back then, the podcast existed to help support staffers sidelined by the strike. This time, it’s arriving as part of the long goodbye to Colbert’s Late Show, which ends on May 21. ### What exactly is coming back? It’s a special new video episode of Strike Force Five, the limited-run podcast the five hosts started in 2023 when their shows were dark. The new installment is episode 13, and it’s the first fresh episode since October 2023, when the original run wrapped after 12 episodes. It will be available on Spotify, the show’s YouTube channel, and the usual podcast platforms. (latenighter.com) ### Why now? Because the group just reunited on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday, May 11. That on-air reunion doubled as the launch point for the new podcast episode. Colbert and Kimmel told viewers they were sticking around after the taping to record what they called an “emergency” episode. So the timing isn’t random — it’s tied directly to Colbert’s final stretch before The Late Show signs off on May 21. (latenighter.com) ### Why does Colbert’s finale matter here? Strike Force Five was always more than five famous guys riffing. It became a public-facing symbol of late-night solidarity during the strike, and now it’s being repurposed as a kind of farewell gathering around one of the format’s biggest exits. That gives the new episode a different emotional charge. It’s not really “season two.” It’s more like the band getting back together for one specific sendoff. (latenighter.com) That’s also why the reunion landed on Colbert’s show first, not as a surprise podcast drop out of nowhere. ### Where is the money going this time? Not to strike-impacted staffs. The new episode’s proceeds will benefit World Central Kitchen, José Andrés’s nonprofit that provides meals during humanitarian and climate-related crises. That’s a meaningful shift. The original podcast had a very immediate labor-purpose — help keep staff supported during the WGA stoppage. Episode 13 keeps the charity piece, but moves it to a broader relief mission. (latenighter.com) ### Wasn’t this thing over? Basically, yes. The official site still centers the old 2023 run, with episode 12 framed as a goodbye and older episodes listed as the core catalog. Apple’s podcast listing now shows 13 total entries, which is the cleanest sign that the new installment is being folded into the original feed rather than spun out as a separate special. ### Why did the original podcast matter so much? (latenighter.com) Because it turned a weird labor moment into something unusually intimate and watchable. These hosts normally compete for guests, ratings, and attention. During the strike, they suddenly had no shows to make, so they started talking to each other instead. That mix of rivalry, camaraderie, and actual behind-the-scenes candor made the podcast feel less like a branded side hustle and more like a temporary window into how late night works when the machinery stops. (strikeforcefive.com) ### Is this a real comeback or a one-off? Everything points to a one-off. The episode is being framed as an “emergency” special made in honor of The Late Show finale, not the restart of an ongoing series. Could they do more later? Sure. But right now the shape of this is very specific — one more episode, one more cause, one more moment for five hosts whose shared project was born in crisis and revived for a farewell. (deadline.com) ### Bottom line Strike Force Five is back, but not because late night suddenly needs another permanent podcast. It’s back because Colbert’s exit created a moment that was too loaded, and too communal, to leave on the table. Episode 13 looks like a reunion with a purpose — part tribute, part fundraiser, part reminder of how unusual that 2023 experiment really was. (latenighter.com)