Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon Pause Shows for Stephen Colbert’s Final 'The Late Show' Episode
May 27, 2026
Jimmy Kimmel | Source: Getty Images
ABC Addresses Rumors About the Future of Jimmy Kimmel’s Late Night Show
By
Akhona Zungu
Sep 10, 202601:00 P.M.
Rumors about Jimmy Kimmel's late-night future ignited this week after multiple outlets claimed his contract would not be renewed. ABC moved swiftly to shut down the chatter, though the network's carefully worded response left plenty of questions hanging in the air.
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ABC is setting the record straight after news emerged that Jimmy Kimmel's namesake late-night show will end after its next season. Insiders had claimed that the longtime "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" host would exit in May 2027.
Jimmy Kimmel on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on September 8, 2026. | Source: Getty Images
"This information is inaccurate," an ABC Entertainment spokesperson told Us Weekly on Tuesday, September 8. "Any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative."
The statement follows a Page Six report claiming the 25th season of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" — which premiered on ABC on Tuesday night — will "wrap with Kimmel's final episode" airing in May 2027.
"His contract is not getting extended," a source familiar with the situation explained. A separate source later told TMZ that "there is talk among the staff that Jimmy has been working on pitching other shows and podcasts around town."
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Jimmy Kimmel, winner of the Outstanding Host For A Game Show award for "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," poses in the Winner's Walk during the 78th Emmy Awards Night 1 at Peacock Theater on September 5, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
Kimmel has long taken pride in signing year-to-year deals — a rarity in the television industry that grants him unusual freedom to walk away on his own terms. The timing of the reports is notable, arriving just after Rosie O'Donnell wrapped a four-night guest-hosting stint that proved a ratings hit.
O'Donnell was "in her element," a source told Page Six, so much so that she went viral for skewering her longtime nemesis, President Trump, with a parody of the traditional Irish tune "Danny Boy" that she dubbed "Donnie Boy."
Rosie O'Donnell hosts "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on August 21, 2026. | Source: Getty Images
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Kimmel has helmed "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" since 2003, making him one of network television's longest-serving late-night hosts. Insiders maintain that his potential departure has nothing to do with his combative history with the Trump administration.
That history runs deep. Kimmel found himself at the center of a bitter feud with Trump earlier this year after joking that first lady Melania Trump "had a glow like an expectant widow" — a remark made just days before a third assassination attempt on the president.
Jimmy Kimmel poses with a Peabody Award in the press room during the 86th annual Peabody Awards at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on May 31, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. | Source: Getty Images
An outraged Trump demanded ABC fire him on the spot. The president also blasted the host over comments Kimmel made about Charlie Kirk's assassination in September 2025, a controversy that led to Kimmel being briefly pulled off the air under then-Disney CEO Bob Iger.
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Still, insiders insist new Disney chief Josh D'Amaro isn't bending to political pressure. "He's not afraid of the administration … Josh isn't folding," a TV insider said.
Jimmy Kimmel on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on May 30, 2026. | Source: Getty Images
D'Amaro has reportedly been offering veteran executives early retirement packages as part of a broader restructuring and cost-cutting push across the company — a detail that suggests budget, not politics, may be driving the decision.
As one ABC source bluntly put it, "it wouldn't have anything to do with Trump."
Jimmy Kimmel on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on May 6, 2026. | Source: Getty Images
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Notably, Kimmel had already been mulling the end of his own run well before this latest storm. Following the cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," Kimmel opened up about his own uncertain future.
"I feel a little bit defeated by it," he told Vulture in an interview published in June, reflecting on CBS's decision to ax Stephen Colbert's program. "In a lot of ways, I feel like I'm looking at my own future."
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