00:00Jimmy Kimmel says that he was ready to retire from his late-night show before the writer's strike.
00:04The Jimmy Kimmel Live host shared the revelation during the first episode of the limited Spotify
00:09podcast Strike Force 5, which features Kimmel and his fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon,
00:14Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers. Are you guys getting stir-crazy? Are you ready
00:20to go back to work? Because as you know, I was very intent on retiring right around the time
00:26where the strike started, and now I realize, like, oh, yeah, it's kind of nice to work. I mean,
00:33you know, when you are working, you think about not working.
00:35Myers was quick to doubt Kimmel.
00:37Kimmel, Kimmel, come on. You are the Tom Brady of late-night.
00:41Well, no, I think he-
00:42You have a feigned retirement.
00:44I'm Tom Brady without any rings, yes, or fingers.
00:49Was this, are we to take you at your word that you were seriously considering this?
00:53I really was. I think I told you that privately, right?
00:57Well, you're doing it publicly, right?
00:58Kimmel doubled down, saying he was very, very serious. He added that he likes getting the
01:02summer off from his show each year, but he likes it better when he's, quote,
01:05getting paid to get the summer off. If Kimmel had made the decision to retire before the strike
01:09was called, it would have been complicated, since he agreed to a three-year extension of his ABC show
01:14last year, which would bring the Emmy-nominated series through its 23rd season.
01:18On Wednesday, the five late-night hosts announced the newly launched podcast,
01:21which will benefit staff impacted by the ongoing strikes. It will consist of at least
01:2512 episodes with all five hosts participating. For more on this story, go to THR.com.
01:30For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.
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