Jimmy Kimmel says he was ‘intent on retiring’ prior to Hollywood strikes

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — Jimmy Kimmel was ready to throw in the towel as the host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” but it seems the host has had a change of heart.

“I was very intent on retiring right around the time where the strike started,” Kimmel said Wednesday on the debut episode of his new Spotify podcast “Strike Force Five,” which he hosts with fellow network TV late-night show personalities Seth Meyers, John Oliver, Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert.

“Now I realize, oh yeah, it’s kind of nice to work,” Kimmel added.

In 2022, ABC announced that Kimmel signed a three-year contract extension to stay on as host and executive producer of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” so regardless of his itch to retire, he’s under contract until 2025.

TV and film writers in the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike in May after the union was unable to come to a new contract agreement with the Hollywood studios and streamers.

As a result, the late-night shows – which rely on writers for monologues and comedy bits – all went dark in May. SAG-AFTRA, the union representing 160,000 actors and performers, went on strike in July after they too were unable to reach a new contract agreement with major studios. Wages, streaming residuals and AI usage remain central issues in the stalemate.

“The reason we’re doing this is because we’re financially supporting members of our staff,” Kimmel said on the podcast, adding “Everyone that works on a TV show is out of work right now, and so all the money that we make on this show goes to them.”

“Strike Force Five” launched on Wednesday, and will be available on most major podcast platforms. Spotify said the series will run for at least twelve episodes, with each host serving as a rotating moderator.

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