Jimmy Kimmel Live! will continue running on ABC for at least another year after Jimmy Kimmel struck a deal with Disney to keep his show on the air. The late-night host’s deal with the network was reportedly set to end in 2026, but has now been extended to 2027, according to Variety.
In September, Kimmel’s talk show was suspended following comments he made about Charlie Kirk‘s alleged murderer. The decision came after affiliates Nexstar and Sinclair announced they would be pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! from programming on their stations, leading Disney to also axe the program.
ABC announced the suspension on September 17 and lifted it five days later. Kimmel returned to his show on September 24. He has been hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! since 2003.
Per Variety’s sources, Kimmel’s deal with ABC’s parent company was actually made before the controversy.
After Kirk, a conservative activist, was murdered, Kimmel said on his talk show, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
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Critics slammed his remarks as “offensive” and “insensitive” and accused Kimmel of “play[ing] into the narrative that this [shooter] was somehow a MAGA or Republican-motivated person,” per the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr.
When he returned to his talk show, Kimmel got choked up over Kirk’s death. “You understand it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it. I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed asking compassion for his family, and I meant it. I still do. Nor did I mean to blame any specific group for the actions of a specific individual. That was actually the opposite of the point I was trying to make. For those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation were reversed, there’s a good chance I would’ve felt the same way.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, ABC
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