Is Jimmy Kimmel Live! really ending in 2027? Not if ABC has something to say about it.
On September 8, Page Six published an exclusive report which claimed that the network was planning on cutting the popular late night talk show in 2027, after 24 years on the air.
© Getty ImagesABC's statement on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
"His contract is not getting extended," their report read. However, soon after, a spokesperson for ABC debunked the update with a public statement.
"[This] information is inaccurate — any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative," their statement read, per USA Today.
Jimmy Kimmel celebrates his show's 4000th episode
Just hours later, Jimmy Kimmel himself was back on the air after his summer break, to celebrate the show's milestone 4000th episode, and was able to get in a jab at Donald Trump as well in his monologue.
"Not only is this my first show back, this is our 4000th show," he began, to raucous cheers from the studio audience. "It's a lot of shows. According to the White House, it's too many shows."
"This show premiered after the Super Bowl in January 2003. There are those who said we would never last this long. There are even those who used the regulatory might of the FCC to unconstitutionally try to make sure we didn't last this long," he said, referring to the network's controversial decision, in tandem with the FCC and the administration, to take the show off the air following Jimmy's comments about the killing of controversial right wing figure Charlie Kirk.
© Getty Images"But we did it the hard way, Brendan, and we are still here!" he defiantly continued, a reference to FCC Chair Brendan Carr. He then noted all of the things that were happening politically when he left for summer break in June, including the war in Iran, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and Mitch McConnell's health.
"Now, only three months later, I am so pleased to report that thanks to your favorite president, DJ Jazzy Donald, every one of those problems has been solved, we've made America great again," he quipped, at which point the audience started booing.
He continued on with the show recapping the summer in political controversies and major news highlights, plus sharing some of his own memories from his months off, much of which included time on his boat.
© Getty ImagesWhy Disney is "thoroughly supportive" of the ABC talk show
Back in June, former Disney CEO Bob Iger explained what the process was going into the decision to "indefinitely" pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air after the Charlie Kirk monologue. "We thought it was in bad taste," he told Financial Times.
He also stated that they did in fact ask Jimmy to apologize for the monologue. "We just wanted him to acknowledge that it was an ill-timed and probably inappropriate comment."
© Getty ImagesHowever, in response to the president's calls for the show itself to be banned, the Disney exec confirmed that the company, which owns ABC, is fully backing their late night host. "I'm thoroughly supportive. It's what we anticipated needing to do if the government's threats turned into action."
