Jimmy Kimmel is returning to Jimmy Kimmel Live! a lot sooner than anyone thought.
On Monday, Sept. 22, less than a week after ABC suspended Kimmel indefinitely, ABC announced the return of the late night host. Kimmel will return to Jimmy Kimmel Live! for a new episode on Tuesday, Sept. 23, in his normal time slot.
According to Deadline, an ABC spokesman explained the decision to allow Kimmel's show to return.
"Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday."
This is definitely a move that most didn't see coming. When it happened, it seemed more likely that Kimmel's show might be coming to an end. Even President Donald Trump celebrated ABC's decision to "cancel" the show.
Gavin Newsom, Stephen Colbert, and many others criticized ABC for pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live!, while supporting the host and his team. It's been a major conversation dominating social media and news for just under a week.
On Wednesday, Sept. 17, ABC shocked almost everyone with its decision to suspend Kimmel indefinitely after what ABC called "insensitive" comments in relation to the death of Charlie Kirk.
After Kimmel's comments, FCC chairman Brendan Carr made some comments that seemed to suggest ABC could be punished. According to another Deadline report, Carr said that ABC would need to “find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."
Following Carr's comments, Nexstar and Sinclair, two broadcasting groups, claimed they would preempt Kimmel's show, and later, ABC publicly announced Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be suspended indefinitely.
Well, that suspension didn't last long. For fans of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, this is obviously great news because there were real concerns that the show was coming to an end after the suspension. It will be interesting to see how Kimmel returns, what he says, and what he shares about what has to feel like a surreal situation. I don't remember the last time a TV show was ever pulled from the air for reasons like this. Of course, we've seen performers of all kinds fired, removed from roles, and asked not to perform, but we've never seen anything like the events that have transpired which led to the suspension of one of the biggest late-night shows on the air.
You can watch Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
Stay tuned for more news about Jimmy Kimmel Live! We'll continue to monitor this story and share news and notes as we find out.