Late-night hosts, assemble.
It was a “Strike Force Five” reunion on Monday’s episode of “The Late Show,” as Stephen Colbert’s “best television friends” Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver stopped by for a visit as the CBS show heads into its final few episodes before next week’s series finale. The late-night stars previously teamed up for the 12-episode “Strike Force Five” podcast in 2023, which they created to help support their staffs amid the Writers Guild of America strike that year.
During the lengthy chat, Colbert joked that “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart had been named the “designated survivor” for the world of late night on Monday, and wouldn’t appear alongside the quintet.
“Someone has to survive for the president to be mad at, and do our eulogies," quipped Colbert.
Looking back on the legacy of “Strike Force Five,” Kimmel said it was a “very successful” venture meant to support their writers on strike, and that “people seemed to really love it.” The late-night stars also revealed that they would tape a new “emergency” episode of the podcast following “The Late Show” appearance (which will drop on Wednesday, according to Deadline).
When Colbert brought up the elephant in the room — that his show is going off the air on May 21 — Kimmel helped lead the crowd in a chorus of boos, while Meyers joked that Colbert would get the boot from the podcast crew once “The Late Show” is no more.
“Don’t worry, give me a few months, it’ll be ‘Strike Force Three,’” Kimmel joked, referencing his own recent controversies and spats with the Trump administration that have put his show in some hot water.
Colbert later asked his fellow hosts to “make a case for late night,” a question he’s gotten a lot recently, with Kimmel pointing to “the figures” of how fans are now watching in droves across not just traditional television but also social media on sites like YouTube.
“The fact of the matter is more people are watching late-night television now then — and I know everybody gets crazy — when Johnny Carson [was on]," said Kimmel. “People have a lot of different options, and yet they keep coming to us.”
Kimmel went on to lament how fans of Colbert haven’t canceled their Paramount+ subscriptions out of protest, like his viewers did with Disney+ when “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was briefly suspended last year.
“I will tell you, when I got knocked off the air for a few days, people canceled Disney+,” Kimmel said. “Why aren’t you people canceling Paramount+? Because you didn’t have it in the first place?”
Kimmel and the other hosts also weighed in on what it’s like having the eyes of the president and his administration constantly on their programs.
“You know what’s even weirder? We’re doing a job that his wife has strong feelings about,” Kimmel joked, a nod to his recent clash with first lady Melania Trump.
“Most of us have avoided that part,” Meyers responded. The New Hampshire native later added that it’s, surprisingly, nice to know that the president watches their shows, often in real time as they air.
“The thing I like is that he always posts when the show actually aired. And I do want to say, I appreciate that he is watching linear television,” Meyers. “If I would make my case for late night, it’s that leaders of the free world are watching it when it airs.”
Matt Juul can be reached at matthew.juul@globe.com.