‘Strike Force Five’ To Reassemble for One Night Only To Honor Colbert

I recently listened to an episode of Stavy’s World with the Blank Check guys, and felt particularly seen and called out by one particular moment. The three dudes were talking about listening to podcasts and how they’ll throw one on even if they’re doing a brief task. David Simms, I believe, said something to the effect of, “gotta walk down the stairs, better listen to a podcast.” That’s me! I fell asleep on the couch last night (brag), woke up at 4 AM, and, on the way from my couch to my bed (during which time I also brushed my teeth again), I listened to a Blank Check episode about Star Trek: Nemesis (a movie I have never seen).

Regardless of the subject matter, I needed something to distract my brain, even for a brief period. Because of that, I will go through a lot of pods. I did become a Blank Check Patreon subscriber recently, so they’ve taken over my feed to make that purchase worth it, but I still have plenty in my queue, and have forgotten more podcast episodes than most people have listened to. When Howl and then Stitcher were a thing, I listened to How DId This Get Made’s back catalogue like it was my job (and am dismayed that now I’m beholden to re-releases that have been edited down for reasons I both do and don’t understand).

All that is to say that there are some podcasts I have enjoyed immensely, but never returned to because they stopped rather abruptly. Seth Rogen had a short-lived storytelling podcast that I really enjoyed. Matt Gourley did a special series on people who work at Disney parks called Keys to the Kingdom, which I loved (and is maybe doing another season), and then, there’s Strike Force Five, a podcast that came out of a writer’s strike and brought together the last of the late-night hosts: John Oliver, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Fallon to joke around and support their out-of-work writers.

The podcast only lasted 12 episodes (which is honestly more than I remember), but its impact was large. While the five were friendly, it seemed to turn them all into legitimate friends thanks to their shared experiences, ability to make each other laugh, and fondness for roasting Jimmy Fallon. Now, in light of Stephen Colbert’s imminent cancellation, the team will reunite on his show on Monday, May 11th. It is yet another can’t-miss show for Colbert as he goes out guns ablazing.

It’s also another bittersweet moment in this whole saga. I’m thrilled that this group of funny men with shared interests (and, let’s be frank, shared trauma) is reuniting for our entertainment, but not like this. It should be a more joyous reason. But, at least we’ll get a group of guys who have no interest in pulling any punches on a network that has readily made itself the prospective butt of all their jokes (along with a certain sitting president who’s likely to rightfully catch a few punchlines).