Strike Force Five podcast returns, Colbert talks 'rising tide of emotion'

Brendan Morrow, USA TODAYWed, May 13, 2026 at 1:15 PM UTC

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The Strike Force Five have struck again!

Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon have released the first new episode of their "Strike Force Five" podcast since 2023 to mark the end of Colbert's "The Late Show." The podcast episode came out on May 13, two days after the late-night hosts sat down with Colbert on "The Late Show."

At the top of the podcast, Colbert shared how he's feeling with just seven "Late Show" episodes left.

"It's super real," he said after Fallon asked if the end of the late-night show has sunk in. "I've sunken into it, actually. What I've said is the rising tide of emotion has reached my chin, and now, the only thing to do is take a deep breath and swim like hell to May 21."

Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers with Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show" on May 11, 2026.What will Stephen Colbert do after 'The Late Show'?

The comedian joked he feels a bit like a "college senior," though, with everyone constantly asking what he will do next. Colbert has already announced he's writing a new "Lord of the Rings" movie, but beyond that, he isn't sure about his future plans.

"This show takes all of my mind – like, 95% of my mind every day to do this show," he said. "Until it's over, I don't really know. I've had some really nice meetings with people, like, 'We want to be in the Stephen Colbert business.' I'm like, 'That's wonderful. What is that? Could you tell me, please?'"

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Colbert did, however, reveal a hobby he can spend more time on now that the show is ending: Building a boat in his basement. "I'm two hours into it, and it's a 200 hour project," he said. "Starting May 22, I'm all in!"

Kimmel expressed surprise after Colbert noted his "Late Show" staff must immediately leave the show's offices practically as soon as the finale airs.

"No one's got a job after that night," he said. "I think the next day, everyone's fired. I think maybe the crew has some time to clear out the studio, but the staff all has to be gone. … I think they're going to start tearing [things] out immediately. I know my staff is not paid the next day. Like, they're out. I've already packed my office."

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For Colbert, one of the things he'll miss most about the show, he shared, is working with "young people, who are good at their jobs and who you met when they were first out of college."

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Oliver asked Colbert how many times he has interviewed a guest and then vowed to never have them back on the show. While Colbert said the number is "probably not double figures," he recalled an instance where this happened on his previous show, Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report."

Without naming names, Colbert said he interviewed a former Bush administration official, who spoke negatively about former President George W. Bush only when the cameras were off.

Stephen Colbert hosts "The Late Show" with guests Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver and Seth Meyers on May 11, 2026.

"I said, 'Why didn't you say that on camera? That's why you're here,'" Colbert said. "He goes, 'Well, I've got to get a job in this town.' That's the first person I ever said, 'That person can never come back.'"

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Kimmel then asked Colbert if there were any guests that he found distractingly attractive, and he named a few. Colbert said he "didn't know what to do with my eyeballs" when Michelle Williams was on, and he also pointed to Rachel Weisz, Rebecca Ferguson and Andrew Garfield.

As the podcast's presumably final episode ever came to a close, Kimmel applauded Colbert for a "great run," while Meyers joked, "By the way, we will keep doing this [podcast] without you, and it won't be the same."

The five late-nights hosts launched the "Strike Force Five" podcast in 2023, while their shows were all shut down during the writers strike. The podcast lasted 12 episodes, ending in October 2023 after the strike was lifted and the shows came back on the air.

Earlier this week, the comedians reunited on "The Late Show," where Kimmel shared "outrage" about Colbert's show being canceled and joked that he's waiting "for angry Stephen to come out."

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"The Late Show" will air its final episode on May 21. To ensure Colbert has the spotlight, both Fallon and Kimmel will be airing a rerun that evening.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colbert reunites with Kimmel, more on Strike Force Five podcast

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