- Jimmy Kimmel admitted that Stephen Colbert’s departure has left him feeling a little bit defeated and has also made him think about what could happen to his own show.
- Jimmy Kimmel argued that the format still reaches huge numbers of people, especially through online platforms where clips attract millions of views.
- Jimmy Kimmel believes the problem is not a lack of public interest but other outside pressures affecting the industr
Jimmy Kimmel is opening up about his future as the chat show host following the recent end of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In a new interview, Kimmel admitted that Colbert's departure has left him feeling “a little bit defeated” and has also made him think about what could happen to his own show.
He argued that the format still reaches huge numbers of people, especially through online platforms where clips attract millions of views. He believes the problem is not a lack of public interest but other outside pressures affecting the industry.
In a conversation with Vulture, Jimmy Kimmel said, “I feel a little bit defeated by it. In a lot of ways, I feel like I'm looking at my own future.”
The chat show host adds: “There are far more people watching late-night TV than there ever were, if you look at the number of views me and my colleagues get online every day and add in our linear-television ratings. We're not just dying of natural causes. We're being poisoned.”
Kimmel questioned the explanation given for the cancellation of Stephen Colbert's show. He pointed out that reports said CBS had offered Colbert a five year contract in 2023, although Colbert chose a three year deal. Kimmel said it does not make much sense to him that the network will offer such a long contract if the show was already losing a large amount of money.
Jimmy Kimmel said that late night television is not making the kind of money it did during the days of hosts like Johnny Carson or Jay Leno. Despite that, he said ABC has told him that Jimmy Kimmel Live is still making a profit. He also shared that Disney renewed his contract for only one year in 2025, which was different from the usual three year extensions he had received in the past.
His current contract ends in May 2027 and he has not decided whether he will continue hosting the show or step away from it. Kimmel said he has spent time thinking about how his late night career could eventually end.
“It's important to me to be responsible. I know I could go out in a blaze of glory and get a lot of applause for it, but it would be a very selfish thing to do.”
Jimmy Kimmel had once expected to leave several years ago. He previously thought his time as host would come to an end around 2020, but those plans never happened and he continued with the show.
According to his longtime producer, Erin Irwin, Kimmel has been discussing the idea of stepping away. She said she hopes he stays on the air till the 2028 presidential election, but she is not sure if he wants to continue that long. Irwin explained that after hosting the program for more than two decades, Kimmel looks tired.