Late-Night’s Back! See How Colbert, Fallon, Kimmel and Meyers Kicked Off Their Post-Strike Returns

There was a palpable excitement in late-night Monday, as Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers returned with their first new episodes in five months.

All four hosts came back one night after fellow Strike Force Five member John Oliver resumed Season 10 of HBO’s Last Week Tonight and slammed Hollywood studios for taking nearly 150 days to offer the Writers Guild of America a fair deal (which you can watch here).

Clips began trickling in ahead of air. Colbert was the first to post his monologue online, with the Late Show host celebrating the wins the WGA scored in their new contract. “Plus, thanks to the picket lines, my writers got fresh air and sunshine, and they do not care for that,” he cracked. “Now they’re back safely in their joke holes doing what they do best: making my prompter word screen full of good and ha-ha.”

The Late Show also posted a pre-taped cold open from Monday’s show featuring a bearded Colbert rowing through the ocean — that was, until a friendly dolphin informed him that the strike was over:

The Tonight Show posted a behind-the-scenes video of Fallon’s first night back, with Jimmy preparing for the show and then making his grand entrance, gushing with gratitude for his audience: “I love you, I miss you, oh my God!”

Fallon used his monologue to get in jabs at Lauren Boebert, the New York Jets and the strike itself: “The stalemate finally ended when studios realized, ‘We gotta end this now, or it’s another three months of watching Suits.'” Fallon even almost kinda-sorta (but not really) addressed the toxic workplace allegations that surfaced just weeks ago.

Kimmel got a hand from guest Arnold Schwarzenegger, who gave the host a pep talk as he prepared to start up his show again: “Get to the chopper!” Then in his monologue, Kimmel thanked his crew before launching into belated jabs at former president Donald Trump’s multiple indictments — and his self-reported weight:

Meyers kicked off his first show back on Late Night by thanking his writers and his Strike Force Five pals, as well as his family for putting up with him during the long layoff:

That was followed by a 30-minute edition of his signature segment “A Closer Look,” which recapped five months worth of news:

Which late-night host’s return did you enjoy most? Watch all the highlights, then sound off in Comments.