Jimmy Kimmel will say more on late night TV.
Disney and ABC will be rescheduling comedians on schedule starting Tuesday night after the decision to air the show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” for a period of time. “Last Wednesday, we decided to pause production of the show to avoid further inflammatory tension in our country’s emotional moments. That’s a decision we made because some of the comments felt worse and therefore insensitive,” the company said in a statement. “We spent our last day in thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
Disney’s decision to bench one of the signature personalities said it provided conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death-bound remarks after two major station owners, NextStar Media and Sinclair, said they would preempt his program following Kimmel’s monologue last Monday. These announcements came after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Kerr appeared to have proposed to broadcasters that should try to suppress Kimmel and remove him from that schedule.
Still, after Kimmel aired, Disney faced protests from the creative community. On Monday, 400 celebrities, including people like Martin Short and Tom Hanks, who created Disney’s memorable characters in the recent past, signed a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union. First Amendment advocates from both sides of the political aisle have denounced the recent situation.
According to anyone familiar with the issue, the decision to bring Kimmel back was approved by Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden. The executives acted on what was best for the company, the person said, not outside factors. In fact, it remains unclear whether all ABC affiliates will air Kimmel’s program. Nexstar and Sinclair spokespersons were unable to contact us to comment immediately.
It’s not clear whether Kimmel will offer an apology for his comments, but we’ll see him and Disney executives agreeing to get him to do it Tuesday night. In the past, late-night hosts have had to soften their apology for offending comments among those who had had to express their regret at jokes and one-liners that sparked more rage than laughs.
The comedian angered conservatives by discussing some of theories about Kirk’s death caused by the assassin who shot him in Utah. “We hit a new low over the weekend with the Magga gang trying to characterise this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as something other than one of them,” Kimmel said. He also enjoyed President Trump’s response to questions from the press about Trump’s death after he discussed the construction of the new White House ballroom.
Disney’s decision to broadcast Kimmel has given a new spotlight on how uncertain the traditional media companies have become in the era when the White House and the Federal Communications Commission were hit by individual reports with comments and legal pushbacks. In recent months, President Trump has sued both ABC News and CBS News over comments by ABC News anchor George Stephanopulos and compiled an interview with former US vice president Kamala Harris in “60 Minutes.” In both cases, the corporation agreed to pay a multi-million dollar settlement, despite the legal case being considered very thin by experts.
In another era, late-night hosts were more measured in their commentary. Johnny Carson became famous for holding his own politics to himself, enjoying someone who happened to be in the White House. However, in recent years, hot talk and political humor have focused on social media chatter and viral paths to promote assessment. Meanwhile, the program’s audience is beginning to decline, with more viewers choosing to sift through clips from various shows on social media the day after the original episode aired. Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” on CBS is the most viewed on TV’s late-night programme as it follows the theme that hosts comment on the latest headlines. Because of most of Colbert’s tenure on television, President Trump was at the heart of them.
Such dynamics may be poised to stop. Paramount has stepped out of late-night business and cancelled Colbert’s “Late Show,” which will end in May. The company cited the recession in advertising, but there are still suspicions that David Ellison, the new leader of Paramount Skydance, wants to curb political snipers and respond to more conservative bases.
Kimmel’s return to Wee-Hours TV gives the comedian time to enjoy his work. His current contract with ABC is expected to end in 2026, and those familiar with the host’s ideas say he has resigned from the role at some point in the near future. Whether it’s the following year or after one or more new contract cycles, it’s still unknown.
