Jimmy Kimmel has been the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! since 2003, which actually blows my mind. I’ve never been a consistent viewer of any late-night television program, but I remember the greatest hits of those early days, like the whole origins of the Matt Damon feud and the Sarah Silverman video about f-cking him. In retrospect, that all seems like a whole other lifetime ago, but still, it’s hard to wrap my head around JKL being around for 21 years. Jimmy, like most of us, hasn’t been perfect, but he has been a good advocate for better healthcare and pisses convicted felon Donald Trump off, so there’s that.
Jimmy’s contract with ABC is up in 2026, which would put him at 23 years. Last year, Jimmy spoke about being ready to retire. While doing press for his Oscars hosting gig earlier this year, Jimmy basically reiterated that he was ready to move on after his contract was up. If memory serves me correctly, Jimmy is also a big Lost fan, so perhaps he was feeling superstitious and decided that if he was going to end it on a year that coincided with one of the numbers?
Jimmy Kimmel hints that he might be retiring from late-night TV as soon as his contract is over at ABC. In a new interview, the comedian opened up about feeling like his time to leave Jimmy Kimmel Live! is coming up.
“I think this is my final contract,” Kimmel told the Los Angeles Times. “I hate to even say it, because everyone’s laughing at me now — each time I think that, and then it turns out to be not the case. I still have a little more than two years left on my contract, and that seems pretty good. That seems like enough.”
Kimmel has been a staple of late-night television since 2003, with 21 seasons under his belt. The host said that he’s thought about life without the show but when the hiatus hits, he misses it.
“It’s hard to yearn for it when you’re doing it,” he said. “Wednesday night, I was very tired and I had all these scripts to go through — I had to revise and rewrite all these pitch ideas for the Oscars — and I was literally nodding off onto my computer. In those moments, I think, ‘I cannot wait until my contract is over.’ But then, I take the summer off or I go on strike, and you start going, ‘Yeah, I miss the fun stuff.’”
With more than two years left on his current contract, Kimmel has time to think about what he will do next as he doesn’t have a plan just yet.
“I don’t know exactly what I will do,” Kimmel said. “It might not be anything that anyone other than me is aware of. I have a lot of hobbies — I love to cook, I love to draw, I imagine myself learning to do sculptures. I know that when I die, if I’m fortunate enough to die on my own terms in my own bed, I’m going to think, ‘Oh, I was never able to get to this, and I was never able to get to that.’ I just know it about myself.”
Honestly, good for Jimmy. He’s worked hard doing Jimmy Kimmel Live! and periodically moonlighting as an Oscars host for over two decades. Him retiring from late night doesn’t mean he’s going to retire for good. If he wants to pursue other goals, then I say go for it. If he wants to take his millions and retire and be a full-time dad to his kids, then good for him, too. He is 56-years-old, after all. That’s “only” 10 years younger than most Americans can retire. This just begs the question of who we would like to see in his place, though. I am terrible at this game! Who should take Jimmy’s place? We need fresh, new blood. We need someone who will be a great, creative host for the next 20+ years.
photos credit: Avalon.red and via Instagram
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcW9maoJ4e8mipKaxj6C2rrnEpZamoZedwaCuxJipnqyZp7avs76trqiXnaS%2FpqvYnpirq4%2Bosqa50pijoqOVlLKvu9Sgn2g%3D