Jimmy Kimmel’s future on ABC has become a test case for how long traditional late-night comedy can survive in a polarized political climate and a shifting television economy. As broadcast audiences shrink and costs rise, Disney-owned ABC has decided, at least for now, to stick with one of the genre’s longest-running personalities, extending Kimmel’s contract through May 2027 while the culture wars swirl around his show.
Culture Clash at 11:35 p.m.
Since Donald Trump’s presidency, late-night talk shows have increasingly doubled as nightly forums on politics, and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” has been at the center of that shift. Kimmel’s monologues, often sharply critical of Trump and other conservative figures, have turned ABC’s 11:35 p.m. slot into a regular flashpoint.
As the 2026 election cycle nears, every booking and punchline carries added risk. Partisan media outlets, advocacy groups, and advertisers closely watch for perceived bias, putting ABC under sustained pressure from multiple directions. Supporters see Kimmel as a prominent voice willing to confront powerful politicians; detractors argue that a broadcast network should avoid what they view as ideological messaging. Those tensions frame nearly every discussion about the show’s future.
A Veteran Host Under Fire
Kimmel has fronted “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from Los Angeles since 2003, originally broadcasting from the El Capitan Entertainment Centre on Hollywood Boulevard. Over more than two decades, he has moved from a comedic upstart into a central figure in late-night, helping secure ABC’s foothold in a field long dominated by NBC and CBS.
That prominence has brought mounting political heat. Throughout 2024 and 2025, Kimmel’s pointed jokes about Republican leaders and conservative activists drew escalating criticism from right-leaning media and some GOP politicians, who accused ABC of partisan bias and urged advertisers to walk away. Social-media campaigns and organized boycotts targeted the network, arguing that broadcast airwaves should not carry what they labeled one-sided commentary. At the same time, Kimmel retained a loyal following, particularly in major markets such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, where fans rallied to defend him on free-speech grounds.
The conflict spiked in September 2025, when Disney and ABC temporarily suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after Kimmel’s remarks about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk sparked intense backlash. The show went dark for days. Nexstar Media Group, which owns 32 ABC affiliates, and Sinclair Broadcast Group both refused to air the program even after ABC moved to reinstate it, with Sinclair pressing for a significant personal donation from Kimmel to Kirk’s family and Turning Point USA. When the show returned, ratings improved, suggesting the controversy had not driven viewers away and may have drawn new interest.
A Short-Term Deal
Against that backdrop, ABC opted not to part ways with Kimmel but to narrow its commitment. The network signed him to a one-year extension that keeps “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on the air through May 2027, shorter than his typical three-year renewals. Kimmel announced the agreement on air in early December 2025, joking about having “another no-talent year,” while reporting from Reuters and Bloomberg indicated Disney and ABC had actually finalized the extension months earlier and delayed going public.
The new deal replaces a previous contract that was due to end in May 2026. Kimmel had openly mused in interviews that his prior agreement might be his last, and said he had considered retirement. Extending the show by a single year postpones that decision for both host and network, allowing ABC to keep a familiar presence in a volatile time slot while preserving flexibility as the 2026 election and further industry changes approach.
The shorter term also reflects broader economic and strategic questions facing broadcast networks. With live viewing of full late-night episodes declining, and more audiences consuming jokes as online clips, ABC, NBC, and CBS are rethinking whether traditional nightly talk shows still justify their costs. Executives have experimented with shorter contracts, lower-cost formats, and digital-first priorities. Kimmel’s extension fits that incremental, wait-and-see approach rather than a long-term guarantee.
Political and Regulatory Pressure
Kimmel’s renewal comes amid an unusually direct political campaign against his program. Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked the host by name, denouncing his criticism and, in November 2025, posting on Truth Social that ABC should “get the bum off the air” and that “the TV Syndicates” should not “put up with” what he called totally biased coverage. Those remarks fed into a broader conservative push to pressure Disney and ABC over Kimmel’s commentary.
The dispute also touched on regulatory anxieties. Broadcast outlets depend on licenses overseen by the Federal Communications Commission. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, had previously criticized Kimmel and raised the prospect of license issues if broadcasters persisted in airing what he characterized as a pattern of distortion. Carr urged affiliates to push back, saying they could decline to run Kimmel’s show while warning that continued carriage might expose them to fines or license revocation. In that environment, ABC’s decision to extend Kimmel underscored its assertion of editorial autonomy, even as affiliates and ownership groups weighed their own risk calculations.
A Shifting Late-Night Landscape
ABC’s move plays out as its competitors reassess late-night altogether. CBS has announced that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” produced in New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater, will conclude in May 2026, ending a long-running franchise as executives cite financial pressures and a rapidly changing media environment. That decision would leave NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and Kimmel’s program as the remaining legacy late-night flagships on broadcast television, at least for now.
Disney, under CEO Bob Iger, is juggling cost-cutting, streaming expansion, and brand management across a global portfolio. Keeping Kimmel through 2027 provides a known quantity at a time when the company faces political boycotts, legislative scrutiny in states such as Florida, and close monitoring from international partners who track how U.S. controversies might affect Disney’s family-friendly image. Kimmel’s suspension and reinstatement now sit within a larger narrative foreign regulators and distributors consider when assessing Disney’s offerings.
Looking Ahead to 2026
Media analysts caution that one successful contract extension does not resolve late night’s long-term challenges. Viewers under 35 are far more likely to watch short clips on social platforms than full broadcasts, undermining the traditional ad-supported model. Some experts quoted in trade coverage suggest Kimmel’s new deal may represent one of the last robust chapters before networks either significantly reformat or downsize late-night programming.
With the 2026 midterm races on the horizon, ABC will continue to weigh how much partisan friction it is prepared to absorb from Kimmel’s monologues on subjects such as voting rights, abortion, and Trump’s influence over the GOP. Disney must also navigate its broader culture-war role while protecting a valuable global brand. The one-year extension keeps Kimmel at the center of those debates while giving both the network and the host the option to reassess once another political cycle—and another season of ratings—has played out.
Sources
Deseret News – “Jimmy Kimmel signs new deal to stay in ABC’s late-night lineup through 2026” – 9 Dec 2025
Bloomberg – “Jimmy Kimmel Extends Deal With Disney’s ABC for at Least a Year” – 8 Dec 2025
ABC News – “Jimmy Kimmel extends contract with ABC, will host late-night show through 2026” – 9 Dec 2025
BBC News – “Disney reinstates Jimmy Kimmel after suspension over Charlie Kirk remarks” – 22 Sept 2025
CBS News – “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to end in May 2026” – 17 July 2025
USA Today – “Jimmy Kimmel, Trump agree after Kennedy Center Honors dispute” – 9 Dec 2025
Entertainment Tonight – Trump Kennedy Center Honors remarks – 8 Dec 2025