Jimmy Kimmel is concerned about the future of late night, but not for the same reasons others might be.
In the past year, the veteran comedian has found himself at odds with both the current administration and for a moment with his own network, ABC, starting with when it caved to the whims of Donald Trump and demands of FCC chairman Brendan Carr, briefly yanking Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air following comments he made on Charlie Kirk's death.
And though the late night talk show host has not let up when it comes to his political commentary, the end of his time on late night, and what it might look like, is admittedly on top of mind for him.
© Getty ImagesSpeaking to Vulture and reflecting on the untimely end of Stephen Colbert's late night show last month, largely perceived as an appeasement to Trump so as to facilitate the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media, Jimmy confessed he feels "a little defeated by it."
"In a lot of ways, I feel like I'm looking at my own future," he added, referring, per the outlet, to the Billy Joel song "Allentown," which opens with: "Well, we're living here in Allentown / And they're closing all the factories down."
Jimmy then maintained that despite CBS' argument that The Late Show's cancellation was purely based on ratings and financials, "there are far more people watching late-night TV than there ever were, if you look at the number of views me and my colleagues get online every day and add in our linear-television ratings."
© Getty Images"We're not just dying of natural causes. We're being poisoned," he emphasized, noting that CBS had reportedly pushed Stephen to sign a five-year contract in 2023, he opted for three years, and they ultimately pulled his show only two years in.
"Everything is so tumultuous," Jimmy, whose contract is up in May 2027 — Disney extended his contract in December 2025 for just one year, as opposed to the more traditional three years — went on.
© Getty Images"That seemed to make sense," he said, though noted it's "definitely not how it's gone in the past."
© Disney via Getty ImagesFor now, he's staying mum on whether he will negotiate a new contract or hang up his mic, but he has already thought about when that time comes.
"It's important to me to be responsible,” he said, admitting: "I know I could go out in a blaze of glory and get a lot of applause for it, but it would be a very selfish thing to do."
