The late shows are on strike break, but the late-night hosts are giving themselves something to do. On Wednesday, five of them — Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers — are premiering a limited podcast called “Strike Force Five” that will last for at least 12 episodes.
All five hosts will participate in every episode, and the money earned will go to the staff members of their shows — “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” and “Late Night With Seth Meyers” — who are currently out of work. The host of the hosts, the one who will lead the conversations, will be different in each episode.
The idea arose from the weekly Zoom conversations the hosts have been having since the Writers Guild of America went on strike in early May. They meet to talk about strike and work-stoppage issues, but, as Spotify puts it, the results were “hilarious and compelling conversations.” Unlike the old days, when there always seemed to be tensions among the late-night hosts, Kimmel, Fallon, Meyers, Oliver, and Colbert are clearly not at odds.
The series is being sponsored by the phone service provider Mint Mobile and beverage company Diageo.
In a segment before his late-night show was halted, Meyers said he was grateful for his staffers, quipping that strong writing is “essential to any show where the host, myself, is at best a C-plus performer.”
“For those people who have a job in show business, they are entitled to fair compensation,” Meyers said. “They are entitled to make a living. I think it’s a very reasonable demand that is being set up by the guild, and I support those demands.”
In another early May segment, Colbert also said he thought the writers’ demands were “not unreasonable,” adding that without them, “The Late Show” would be titled “The Late Show with a guy rambling about Lord of the Rings and boats for an hour.”
“I support collective bargaining,” Colbert said. “This nation owes so much to unions.”
A description for the podcast’s trailer said for fans who listen, it will be akin to watching a “football team with five quarterbacks on the field at once.”
“Listen now, it’s the right thing to do,” the description said.
Matthew Gilbert can be reached at matthew.gilbert@globe.com. Follow him @MatthewGilbert.