And just like that, Jimmy Kimmel Live! is back on the air. Via Variety, we’ve learned that Disney and ABC will bring talk show host Jimmy Kimmel back to their schedule starting Tuesday night. ABC yanked Kimmel’s show off the air last week after affiliates Nexstar Media and Sinclair said they would preempt the popular talk show following Kimmel’s monologue on September 14, where he made jokes about Trump’s reaction to Charlie Kirk’s death. At first, the suspension was “indefinite.” This suggested that FCC Chair Brendan Carr had pressured ABC to cancel the series for good. Now, Disney and ABC have released a statement saying the following:
Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.
Whether one was a fan of Kimmel or not, what happened last week became a lightning rod for free speech. It seemed that between Kimmel and Colbert, the executive branch was waging war on anyone who dared mock the President on public airwaves. But then, thousands of people canceled their Disney+ subscriptions in protest. Additionally, others began canceling their Disney vacations, losing the company some $5 billion in just days. All of this clearly had an effect.
Despite this, TV station group owner Nexstar Media has elected to continue to boycott Kimmel, electing to continue to preempt the show to the 28 stations it operates. It shared the following statement: “We made a decision last week to preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ following what ABC referred to as Mr. Kimmel’s ‘ill-timed and insensitive’ comments at a critical time in our national discourse. We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.” Additionally, another station group,
According to Variety, “Nexstar and Sinclair’s refusal to air “Kimmel” means that just over one-fourth of ABC’s roughly 240 national stations will not carry the program for the time being. Together, the two station groups cover about 25% of the U.S. TV viewing audience.” Sinclair, which operates 38 ABC local stations has also decided to preempt, Jimmy Kimmel Live! Where all this will lead remains unclear. But it feels like a dangerous precedent of censorship.
Either way, it will be fascinating to hear Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue on Tuesday night, and just how much he’ll talk about it all. One thing’s for sure — certain high-profile people are not going to be happy about it. As for the rest of us, we just can’t wait to hear the jokes.
Originally published on September 23, 2025.