Jimmy Kimmel says he is finding fewer reasons to walk away from late night television these days, even as he continues to weigh when the right time to leave might be, in comments made alongside his wife on a podcast appearance this week.
“I Feel Some Responsibility”
Speaking on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast alongside his wife and Jimmy Kimmel Live! executive producer Molly McNearney, Kimmel said the question of whether the demands of hosting a nightly show are worth it weighs on him less than it used to. “Weirdly, I deal with it less now than I used to because now I feel like this show is an outlet for people who are outraged by what’s going on, and I feel some responsibility to those people,” he said.
Kimmel also reflected on how other late night hosts have handled stepping away from the genre. “I know people who’ve been in that situation,” he said. “It’s funny, people make a big show of like, ‘I’m done and I’m tired doing this.’ And then they make a lesser comeback trying to do the same thing. That’s always a bummer. And I always look at that and go, ‘Oh, is that going to be me?'” He added that he is “never going to stop doing things,” even once his ABC show eventually ends.
His Wife’s Mixed Feelings
McNearney, who serves as co-head writer and executive producer on the show, said she has conflicting feelings about her husband potentially stepping away. “It definitely appeals to me for the nervous system of the household,” she said, describing Kimmel as having “a fly rod in one hand and a torch in the other right now.” She added that continuing the show during a politically tense period has made a large portion of its audience feel heard, which fuels her own reluctance to see him quit despite wanting him to be able to relax.
A Contract Running Through 2027
Kimmel signed a one year extension with Disney in December, a couple of months after ABC briefly pulled him off the air over comments he made following the killing of Charlie Kirk. His current deal runs through May 2027, and he has previously said in a Vulture interview that he told the network six years ago he believed he was done hosting the show, during Joe Biden’s presidency. Ratings for guest hosts who filled in during his suspension varied, with Rosie O’Donnell drawing some of the strongest numbers of the stretch.
Why It Matters
The comments arrive at a moment when several long-running late night hosts have faced questions about the format’s future, amid rising production costs and shifting viewing habits. Kimmel has previously argued there is no inherent reason late night shows need to disappear, pointing instead to the expense of running them as the industry’s real challenge, rather than any lack of audience interest.
