As President Donald Trump continues to wage a war against late-night, it seems one longtime late-night host might be looking to get out of the game. According to an insider, Jimmy Kimmel is preparing for his future and looking to line up a new gig to help him ease out of the late-night landscape and call it quits before he’s ushered out the door.
According to the National Enquirer, Kimmel is reportedly looking to exit late-night as he eyes the opportunity to spend more time with his family. He also apparently wants to go out on his own terms rather than seeing Jimmy Kimmel Live end due to ABC axing the program.
“Jimmy is determined to quit late-night before he’s axed,” an insider alleges.
Interestingly, the outlet reports that in eyeing a potential exit, Kimmel has set his sights on another hosting gig, which would keep him on air just in a different hosting role.
Jimmy Kimmel reportedly wants to host Jeopardy!
It seems Jimmy Kimmel is looking to expand his hosting duties with a role that could help him pull back on his late-night presence. In fact, it seems he’s set his sights on one of the biggest game shows on air: Jeopardy!.
As reported by the National Enquirer, Kimmel is interested in taking on the hosting responsibilities of Jeopardy!, a move that would help give the game show a boost as Sony looks for an answer to Ryan Seacrest’s new hosting gig on Wheel of Fortune.
The report alleges that Kimmel is looking to get more time to spend with his kids and Jeopardy! would allow him to do so as the show films twice a week.
“[Sony] needs an answer to Ryan Seacrest. At the same time, Jimmy is looking for a job that would leave more time for him to be with his kids — and Jeopardy! is perfect with its twice-a-week taping schedule,” a source told National Enquirer.
The outlet reports that while Wheel of Fortune’s ratings are still lower than Jeopardy!'s, Seacrest is helping to turn things around and drawing a lot of attention, while Ken Jennings’ ratings haven’t been as impressive as those of his predecessor, the late Alex Trebek. It seems Kimmel taking over could not only give Jeopardy! a flashy new host, but also land Kimmel more than he currently makes hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live and the flexibility he’s rumored to be seeking.
Given Kimmel’s contract is up at the end of the upcoming season, there is a chance he could indeed choose to bring Jimmy Kimmel Live to an end, and it would make sense for him to be putting a backup plan in place to set himself up once that time comes. Of course, this is all speculation at the moment, but with Kimmel clearly working to put pieces into place for a life after late-night, there's no telling whether he'll extend his contract or indeed begin looking into other opportunities.