ABC Denies Report That 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Will End After Next Season In May 2027 As Contract Talk Swirls

LOS ANGELES — ABC has firmly denied reports that Jimmy Kimmel Live! is set to end after its current season, pushing back on claims first published by Page Six and later confirmed by TMZ that the network does not plan to renew Kimmel's contract once it expires in May 2027.

An ABC Entertainment spokesperson addressed the reports directly in a statement provided to multiple outlets Tuesday.

This information is inaccurate — any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative, the ABC spokesperson said.

The reports emerged the same day Kimmel returned for the show's 24th season, with high-profile guests including Andrew Garfield, Mariska Hargitay and Gal Gadot scheduled to appear during the premiere week. According to Page Six's original report, a source familiar with the matter said Kimmel's contract is not getting extended, suggesting his tenure hosting the late-night program would conclude when his current deal runs out next year.

TMZ, which said it independently confirmed elements of the report, cited a source indicating there had been internal discussion among the show's staff about Kimmel exploring other projects.

There is talk among the staff that Jimmy has been working on pitching other shows and podcasts around town, a source told TMZ, according to the outlet's reporting.

Kimmel signed a one-year extension of his contract in December, a deal set to expire later this year, with his broader arrangement with ABC reportedly structured on a year-to-year basis in recent seasons. TMZ noted that Kimmel has openly discussed the possibility of eventually stepping away from the show in recent months, even as ABC has categorically denied that any final decision has been reached regarding the program's future.

The speculation surrounding Kimmel's contract status arrives against the backdrop of a turbulent stretch for the host over the past year. In September 2025, ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely following comments Kimmel made on air regarding the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot on Sept. 10, 2025, while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. Kimmel had suggested during his monologue that the suspect in Kirk's killing might have been a pro-Trump Republican, remarks that drew immediate and intense backlash from conservative media figures and elected officials.

The fallout from those comments extended beyond ABC itself. Nexstar Media Group, which owns hundreds of ABC-affiliated television stations across the country, announced it would preempt Kimmel's show on its affiliate stations, citing strong objections to his remarks about Kirk's death. President Donald Trump publicly praised Disney's decision to pull the show from the air at the time, calling it great news for America. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr also weighed in supportively at the time regarding the network's decision to pause the program.

Roughly a week after the initial suspension, the Walt Disney Company, ABC's parent company, announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would return to the air. In a statement explaining that decision, the company described a period of direct dialogue with Kimmel before ultimately deciding to bring the show back.

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, the company said at the time.

Kimmel's relationship with Trump has remained a recurring point of tension throughout the controversy, with Kimmel maintaining a longstanding pattern of critical commentary toward the president throughout his broader late-night career, a dynamic that has continued to shape public perception of the show's political positioning even after its return to the air last fall.

Adding further context to the current speculation, Kimmel's wife, Molly McNearney, who serves as a co-head writer and executive producer on the show, spoke publicly last month about her husband's eventual retirement from hosting duties, offering a personal, if somewhat conflicted, perspective on the prospect.

I feel like Jimmy has a fly rod in one hand and a torch in the other right now, McNearney said. It's like he deserves to go out there and just be on the river and relax, but I also want him to keep fighting. And I feel this sense of desire to not quit because I think what he's doing is incredibly important right now. And yes, I know we're doing it in a vacuum, but I think it's giving people a feeling of, like, their voice is heard, and I think it's important.

McNearney went on to express her own personal hope that Kimmel would eventually be able to step back from the demands of hosting the nightly program.

But as his wife, I really would like him to be able to not do the show anymore so he could relax, McNearney said.

Despite ABC's denial of the specific reports regarding a 2027 end date, the network's response has not entirely closed the door on questions surrounding the show's longer-term future, given both Kimmel's own recent comments about eventually stepping away and the broader industry-wide pressures facing traditional late-night programming amid shifting viewership habits and advertising dollars moving increasingly toward streaming platforms.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! first premiered on ABC in January 2003, meaning any conclusion of the show's run following the current season would cap a run spanning nearly a quarter-century on the network. Kimmel took his customary summer break before returning for the new season this week, with guest hosts including Rosie O'Donnell and Jelly Roll having filled in for him during his absence over the summer months.

As of this report, representatives for Kimmel had not issued a separate, direct comment addressing the specific reports beyond ABC's official denial, leaving the question of the show's ultimate future unresolved even as the network continues to characterize any speculation about its end date as premature and unconfirmed.

Source: https://www.ibtimes.com.au/abc-denies-jimmy-kimmel-live-ending-rumours-1875233