Jimmy Kimmel gets real about when and how“ Jimmy Kimmel Live!” could end

Shania RussellMon, June 1, 2026 at 5:56 PM UTC

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Jimmy Kimmel on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' in January
Credit: Randy Holmes/Disney via GettyKey Points -

Jimmy Kimmel has given his retirement from late-night serious thought, on the heels of the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host shared on Monday that his contract with ABC is due to expire in May 2027.

"I know I could go out in a blaze of glory and get a lot of applause for it," the host admitted.

Jimmy Kimmel is giving us a peek at his retirement plans.

The comedian, who launched ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! way back in 2003, is getting candid about the possibility of ending his show amid the precarious state of the late-night TV landscape. During an interview with Vultureon Monday, Kimmel revealed that he previously had an end point picked out.

"Six years ago, I told them I thought I was done when Biden was president," Kimmel admitted to Vulture. The show ultimately lasted beyond the Joe Biden presidency (and his attempt at a reelection bid), but that doesn't mean Kimmel isn't looking for a new ending.

As Kimmel understands things, his show remains profitable for ABC. But last year, rather than offer him the show's typical three-year renewal, the network extended Kimmel's contract by just one more year.

"Everything is so tumultuous. That seemed to make sense," Kimmel said, adding, "It’s definitely not how it’s gone in the past."

As of now, Kimmel's contract is set to expire in May 2027. The comedian said that while contract conversations are typically underway at this point in the year,  ABC has not yet begun the process of negotiating an extension with him.

Jimmy Kimmel at Disney upfront event in May
Credit: Pawel Kaminski/Disney via Getty

"I don’t know what ABC is going to want to do," he said. "It’s an unusual position to be in, but I do still have a year left on my contract, and that’s what I agreed to."

As for what an ending would look like, should it come sooner than expected, Kimmel said he has certainly given it some thought.

"It’s important to me to be responsible," Kimmel said. "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."

Kimmel's longtime producer, Erin Irwin, told Vulture that "he’s been talking about leaving for a while," and shared her hope that the show will continue through the 2028 election. That said, she also voiced some doubts about whether Kimmel would be willing to stick it out for another two years.

"I don’t know if Jimmy can do it for that long,” she said. "He’s tired."

The host's friend and longtime creative partner Adam Carolla offered the outlet his own theory, pointing to the fact that Kimmel has staffed his show with loved ones, including his wife, various family members, and childhood friends.

"He’s built himself a gilded cage of responsibility to these people," Carolla said. "He feels like he can go off into the sunset, but what about the employee that’s been with him for four years who’s just had a kid?”

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Kimmel joked that his reluctance to end the show is fueled by something else entirely — the hassle that it will be to pack up his office and plan a real, official, emotional farewell.

The host, who's been known to tear up during sentimental occasions, said, "As soon as I start talking, I’m like, 'Oh, I’m not going to keep it together.'"

"That might be why I haven’t retired yet. Because I know on my last show, I’m going to be a mess," Kimmel quipped.

Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert in 2017
Credit: Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

However much longer Kimmel plans to host the ABC late-night program, the veteran host has made it abundantly clear that he would prefer to exit on his own terms. The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host has, over the past months, fiercely defended Stephen Colbert amid his show's cancellation, and following the finale, admitted that the abrupt cancellation felt like a bleak window into his own future.

"I feel a little bit defeated by it,” Kimmel shared. "In a lot of ways, I feel like I’m looking at my own future.”

He went on to argue that while the numbers continue to support the existence of late-night — "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," he said — many continue to question the relevance of the format.

"We’re not just dying of natural causes. We’re being poisoned," he added.

Jimmy Kimmel on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' in 2009
Credit: Karen Neal/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

In his own case, Kimmel pointed to the possibility that his show could be ended as a result of his contentious relationship with President Donald Trump. Last year, Disney temporarily pulled Kimmel's show from the air in September following pressure from Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr over a joke about the "MAGA gang" response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Kimmel was back on the air within a week but the public feud has not died down.

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Kimmel more recently earned the president's ire again for cracking a joke about first lady Melania Trump having "a glow like an expectant widow." Two days later, the White House Correspondents' Dinner was interrupted when a gunman allegedly opened fire at the Washington Hilton. Trump was quick to blast Kimmel, claiming he incited violence with his quip and calling for him to be "immediately fired by Disney and ABC."

Kimmel noted that while in both cases he "had the truth on my side as a defense," that may not always be the case.

"What if I actually do do something wrong?” Kimmel said with a laugh. "I mean, that’s inevitable.”

on Entertainment Weekly

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