Jimmy Kimmel in discussions with Disney to bring back late-night show after suspension

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: On September 20, 2025, reports revealed that Jimmy Kimmel’s team was in negotiations with Disney and ABC executives to bring 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' back to air.

The 57-year-old comedian’s show had been suspended indefinitely after his controversial monologue about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death.

Jimmy Kimmel team pushes for comeback

According to insiders speaking with Vanity Fair, Kimmel’s business and legal representatives were deep in talks with Disney, ABC’s parent company, to find a compromise.

The goal was to resume the show’s 23rd season, which remained in limbo after ABC pulled the plug on Wednesday. Kimmel was reportedly concerned not just about his own career but also about the fate of his Los Angeles crew.

Many staffers were still recovering financially from the 2023 actors’ strike, making a permanent cancellation potentially devastating for the team.

Comments that led to suspension

The controversy began Monday, when Kimmel used his opening monologue to criticize what he described as “MAGA spin” over Kirk’s death.

He claimed the alleged shooter Tyler Robinson was a Trump supporter, even though authorities later confirmed Robinson held a leftist ideology.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said during the broadcast.

His refusal to walk back the remarks left Disney and ABC scrambling to manage the fallout.

Past warnings from ABC and political tensions

ABC had reportedly warned Kimmel in the past about steering clear of political attacks, especially those targeting President Donald Trump.

The network had long balanced the ratings appeal of Kimmel’s political humor with concerns that his sharp jabs could alienate viewers. Kimmel admitted in a recent interview with Howie Mandel that ABC executives were often nervous about his comments. “If you want to have a big audience, you don’t want to piss a lot of people off and I was pissing a lot of people off,” he said.

FCC raises red flags over remarks

The fallout reached federal regulators. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr warned Thursday that networks with broadcast licenses, like ABC, have a responsibility to serve the public interest.

Carr said Kimmel “appeared to directly mislead the American public” in his statements about Robinson and Kirk, suggesting ABC could face regulatory scrutiny if the matter escalated.

Uncertain future for 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'

For now, the late-night program remained off the air. Whether Disney and ABC would allow Kimmel to return without an apology remained unclear.

The host reportedly rejected multiple calls to issue a public mea culpa, leaving both his future and that of his show hanging in the balance.

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