ABC Responds to Reports About Jimmy Kimmel’s Departure from Late Night Show
ABC has addressed rumors that Jimmy Kimmel is set to conclude his late-night show after 25 seasons.
“This information is not accurate,” an ABC Entertainment representative stated to Us on Tuesday, September 8. “Any speculation regarding the future of the show at this time is purely conjectural.”
Earlier that day, Page Six reported that the 25th season of Jimmy Kimmel Live! — which debuted on ABC that Tuesday night — will conclude with Kimmel’s last episode airing in May 2027. A source later told TMZ that “staff discussions suggest that Jimmy has been exploring other shows and podcast opportunities.”
Us has reached out to a representative for Kimmel, 58, for further comment.
The speculation comes just weeks after Kimmel’s wife, Molly McNearney, discussed her husband’s potential retirement.
“It certainly appeals to me for our household’s emotional well-being,” McNearney, 48, remarked during the August 24 episode of Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast when questioned about the matter.
The TV writer and producer, who serves as a co-head writer and executive producer on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, added, “I feel like Jimmy is torn right now. He deserves to be out in nature and unwind, but I also want him to keep pushing forward. I feel a strong desire for him to continue because what he is doing matters immensely right now. Even if we’re just in a bubble, it gives people the sense that their voices are being heard, which I believe is crucial.”
She concluded, “But as his spouse, I would really prefer if he could stop doing the show so he can relax.”
The late-night program, which launched in 2003 and is ABC’s longest-running talk show, gained considerable media attention in September 2025 when it was unexpectedly taken off the air following Kimmel’s remarks about the death of Charlie Kirk. (Kirk, a conservative political figure, was tragically killed at Utah Valley University earlier that month.)
In the episode that stirred controversy, Kimmel accused conservatives of stooping to “new lows” by attempting to label Tyler Robinson, the suspect in Kirk’s murder, as part of a far-left agenda.
“The MAGA crowd [is] frantically trying to label this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as someone other than one of them and using it to score political points,” Kimmel stated during the segment. “In the midst of the blame game, there was mourning.”
ABC and the Walt Disney Company, which oversees the network, suspended the show “indefinitely.” However, it returned to the air less than a week later.
In June, former Disney CEO Bob Iger stated in an interview with the Financial Times that his organization “considered [Kimmel’s joke] to be in poor taste.”
He remarked to the outlet at the time, “We simply wanted him to recognize that it was an ill-timed and likely inappropriate comment.”
