“Jimmy Kimmel Live” will live to see another year on ABC.
Emmy Award-winning comedian Jimmy Kimmel has struck a new deal with Disney to stay at the helm of the late-night talk show through May 2027, Bloomberg reported Monday. His current contract is said to expire in 2026.
The Brooklyn native has hosted the series since 2003, and served as a four-time host of the Academy Awards, which airs on ABC. Kimmel also hosts the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”
Kimmel’s longstanding relationship with Disney went sideways when the company “indefinitely suspended” the show after broadcast affiliate giants, Nexstar and Sinclair, raised a ruckus over a monologue in which Kimmel made a joke about President Trump’s reaction to the slaying of controversial Republican figure Charlie Kirk.
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Demonstrators hold signs outside the Los Angeles theatre where ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ is staged on Sept. 18 after the show was taken off the air. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The move set off a firestorm of debates about free speech — and who is allowed to use it — across the country.
After nearly a week off air, Kimmel returned to airwaves and the show reached its highest ratings in over a decade. This surge in viewership occurred despite the show being preempted by a quarter of ABC stations throughout the country.
