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Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night run is set to continue, as ABC has granted the comedian a one-year contract extension that will keep Jimmy Kimmel Live! on the air through May 2027.
The renewal comes just months after the 58-year-old host was abruptly taken off air on September 17 due to backlash over comments he made while discussing the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. During a broadcast, Kimmel remarked that “the MAGA gang” was attempting to frame the suspect in Kirk’s killing “as anything other than one of them.” The statement triggered widespread outrage and prompted Disney — ABC’s parent company — to suspend the show temporarily “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation.”
Kimmel returned to television on September 23.
Charlie Kirk, a prominent right-wing activist, was shot and killed on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University during a Turning Point USA debate event.
According to Bloomberg, Kimmel told his staff about the new contract on Monday, although the deal had reportedly been finalized months earlier. ABC held back the announcement out of respect for Stephen Colbert, whose Late Show is scheduled to conclude in May 2026. Kimmel and Colbert share a longstanding friendship and are both represented by the same manager, James Dixon.
Kimmel’s suspension had stirred national conversation. Variety reported that Nexstar Media — which owns numerous ABC affiliate stations — even considered dropping Jimmy Kimmel Live! from its programming, escalating the situation into a wider debate over political satire and free speech in late-night television. ABC ultimately reinstated Kimmel after what the network described as “thoughtful conversations.”
Since its debut in January 2003, Jimmy Kimmel Live! has remained a major fixture in the late-night landscape for nearly 25 years.
Kimmel recently faced personal heartbreak as well. His longtime best friend and bandleader, Cleto Escobedo III, passed away last month at the age of 59. According to his death certificate, the cause was cardiogenic shock.
