Is Jimmy Kimmel Live! canceled?
By Matt Moore
News that ABC canceled Jimmy Kimmel Live! seemed inevitable during the show’s early days. But since then, Jimmy Kimmel turned things around and is now the longest-tenured late-night TV host. But the show hasn’t aired new episodes in months, causing questions to be raised.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! hasn’t aired a new episode since May. Given everything that’s happened in the news since then, there’s been a noticeable void with his voice off television.
Fortunately, Jimmy Kimmel Live! has not been canceled. The show remains on hiatus due to the Writers Guild of America strike.
The ABC show joined other late-night TV programs by going dark once the union writers walked off Hollywood sets and into the picket lines. There has been no indication that Kimmel’s show will attempt a return without WGA writers, similar to what happened in late-night TV during the 2007 writers’ strike.
What is Jimmy Kimmel’s contract with ABC?
Jimmy Kimmel would be the first to admit that his late-night TV show got off to a rocky start. It was much more of a Late Night with Conan O’Brien situation than the immediate success of a show like The Late Show with Stephen Colbert or The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
But Kimmel and his team pushed through and had enough support from ABC to weather the storm. Now, Kimmel has a 20-year career in late-night TV and currently sits as the longest-tenured late-night TV host.
Kimmel has floated the idea of walking away from late-night TV sooner than later. His annual summer vacations suggest he isn’t quite up for the grueling year-long schedule. However, Kimmel’s contract with ABC means he isn’t leaving just yet.
Kimmel signed a three-year contract extension with ABC in 2022. Jimmy Kimmel Live! will stay on the air at least through the 2025-2026 season. It’s a smart, if not obvious, move by the network. Kimmel’s coverage leading up to and through the 2024 presidential election will surely attract attention and audiences (if the WGA strike is over by then).