Jimmy Kimmel says he has thought about retiring from late night
By Josh Hill
Jimmy Kimmel has hinted that retirement is on his mind, even if he’s not actively thinking about it.
The late night television war is hard one to be a part of. Every single night for basically the entire year you need to come up with something people will be talking about the next day. Times have changed and forced out stalwarts like Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and David Letterman — all of whom are titans of the late night game and all of whom failed to remain forever adaptable.
If it’s not viral, it’s not getting watched, which is why some late night hosts can’t hack it. Jimmy has hacked it so well that he is doing something rather unprecedented this year: hosting both the Emmys and the Oscars.
But how much longer will he do Jimmy Kimmel Live?
Kimmel told Variety that he will for sure do Jimmy Kimmel Live for another three years but beyond that it’s unclear.
"“I know I will do the show for another three year. It’s possible that will be it. My wife’s pregnant. At a certain point, I’d like to have a little more free time. I have very little free time as it is.”"
That’s not a declaration of impending retirement but it’s definitely something that should make your ears perk up. Kimmel is turning 50 in November and is clearly focused on his family before his career, even if that line is blurred at the moment. The late night host told Variety that leaving Kimmel Live could mean that his next venture is in anything from sculpting to writing a book — the latter of which seems to be a natural fit.
Don’t take this as Kimmel saying he is for sure leaving. Late night hosts have long used the leverage of leaving as a means to squeeze the studio. After all, Jimmy is his show; it’s in his name. Late Show, Tonight Show and all of others have the name of the host tacked on to the end, but Jimmy Kimmel Live doesn’t exist without the host.
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Kimmel is locked in for three more years, but things like this make us pause and consider that we need to appreciate what we have while we have it.