- The US late-night talkers Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert are returning to the screens.
- After the end of the screenwriters’ strike in Hollywood, the popular late-night shows started again on US television on Monday.
CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” were the first shows taken off the air when the writers’ strike began on May 2nd.
Now they were among the first to return with new programs on Monday evening after John Oliver on Sunday. “It feels good to be back,” said presenter Stephen Colbert. “Now the writers’ strike is over, with a new contract that includes artificial intelligence protections, cost of living increases, and better pay for streaming, and thanks to the pickets, my writers have gotten some fresh air and sunshine, which they don’t like. Now they’re safe in their laughing dens again.”
Psychiatrist Schwarzenegger
In the opening credits of his show, Kimmel was shown on a psychiatrist’s couch. “The strike has been going on for so long that I just don’t know if I’ll be back,” said Kimmel. The recording then reveals that the therapist is his first guest, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who declares in a variation of his most famous slogan: “You’ll be back.”
Rusty Bono
Jimmy Fallon recorded segments with Matthew McConaughey and John Mayer for his show. He then said that a third guest would be Bono from U2, who performed at the opening of the spectacular Sphere concert hall in Las Vegas over the weekend. Ultimately, a fake Bono appeared in the show, encased in a small ball that was supposed to represent the “Sphere”. The number got limited laughs, and Fallon hinted that it might take some time to shake off the rust that has set in. “I should mention that not all the writers are back,” he said.
Merger during strike
The popular, daily late-night talk shows were directly affected by the work stoppage by US authors at the beginning of May. The production of new episodes of the formats has been stopped. Kimmel, Meyers, Oliver, Colbert and have been heard on their joint podcast “Strike Force Five” since August 30th. In the audio broadcast on Spotify, they talked about the ongoing strikes in Hollywood. The proceeds went to the employees of their respective late-night shows who were temporarily unemployed due to the labor dispute.