Strike Force for Stephen

The final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air next Thursday 21 May, not because Stephen wants to get out of late night, but because CBS wants to get deeper into Donald Trump’s a--. Everybody knows what a f-cking scam this situation is, and in the months since the announcement was made, few have been more vocal about this bullsh-t than *some*, not all but *some*, of his late night peers. All of those peers, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, and Jimmy Fallon joined Stephen at the Ed Sullivan Theater last night for a Strike Force Five reunion.

Strike Force Five was the podcast they started back in 2023 during the writer's strike, in support of the writers on each of their shows. They announced yesterday that a new “emergency” episode will be released tomorrow ahead of Stephen’s final week, presumably an opportunity to speak more candidly than they did on The Late Show. Not that they were uncandid. Because most of them definitely took shots at CBS – especially Kimmel – and at the administration – especially Kimmel. And of course John Oliver.

At the same time, though, it was also fun. And by fun I mean stupid, as a compliment, since comedy should be silly, and these people are always sillier when they are together. So the overall energy of watching the five of them all together was basically just half an hour of chaos, incapable of staying on topic, making fun of each other, and trying to make each other laugh. Kimmel’s line, "It's like when your young wife dies," actually had Stephen climbing up onto the desk. (You will get it in context if/when you watch the entire segment.)

There’s no doubt, none at all, that this is only love and respect, even for Fallon. They share a tremendous amount of affection – because of course this is an exclusive club, a club that may be closing soon. After next week, they will be down a member; the way Kimmel is going, they might be down two by the end of the year. And being a late night talk show host is a unique experience, one that only another late night talk show host can appreciate: the increasing pressure in these f-cked up times, having to find the right combination of insight and humour (on some nights more than others), the responsibility – to the network, to the staff, to the audience, to their families – and also the sacrifice. There was a conversation at one point about not knowing what a restaurant looks like in daylight, since going out for lunch for them, Monday to Friday, is logistically impossible. I’m not trying to relate to the megahosts in the television business but even for me, being a small-time television presenter in Canada’s comparatively tiny market, I know what this is, I almost never leave the building between 730-430pm and it’s the same for nearly everyone who works on camera at my workplace – so “doing lunch”, for us, is a luxury.

Stephen Colbert, starting at the end of this month, will be able to do lunch, outside, at a place with tables and place settings. And none of the guests on his couch last night were actually envious about it, that’s the reality of this decision by CBS, it is the opposite of savoury, because this is a man who wanted to keep working through lunch, commiserating and celebrating with four other men who showed up for him to send him off.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Late Show (@colbertlateshow)

David Letterman is showing up for Stephen on Thursday. He too hasn’t held back on his thoughts about the demise of the show, returning to the studio he once presided over before he handed the reins over to what would eventually be the final host of the show he started in 1993. Colbert and his producers, I imagine, will want Dave on the couch for as long as Strike Force Five. It’ll be interesting to see how salty – or not – he’ll be when he’s there.

We're Squawking Strike Force Five today. Join us! (App link here.)