For years, it has been rumored that the beloved late night host was ready to walk away from the show; he’s even spoken up in interviews suggesting he would retire. <\/p>\n
But after the pandemic and then two Hollywood strikes, it looked like to many that Jimmy had changed his mind and was ready to stick it out for longer.<\/p>\n
Until now. <\/p>\n Since January 2003, Jimmy Kimmel Live <\/em>has been delighting fans who stay up late, or at the very least catch the recaps on Youtube.<\/p>\n Twenty-one years later, Jimmy is still as popular as he ever was. And, he keeps making headlines with his show! (Never forget his feud with George Santos or what went down with Aaron Rodgers<\/a>!)<\/p>\n But in speaking with the\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/a>\u00a0ahead of hosting the Oscars, Jimmy admitted that, despite having said it before and backtracked, he’s ready to move on from his late night gig.<\/p>\n “I think this is my final contract,” he said, before admittedly, giving himself an out, should he want it.<\/p>\n “I hate to even say it, because everyone\u2019s laughing at me now,” he explained. <\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n The deal he made will keep Jimmy as host and exec producer of ABC\u2019s\u00a0Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/em>\u00a0through its 23rd season. That will take him into 2026. It will also mean he’ll surpass Jay Leno’s streak, who hosted NBC\u2019s\u00a0The Tonight Show<\/em>\u00a0for 22 years, but not David Letterman’s, who spent 33 years in late-night.<\/p>\n “It’s hard to yearn for it when you’re doing it,” said Jimmy, who explained that the show can sometimes get in the way of doing anything else creative due to the demanding schedule. <\/p>\n That was especially true this past year, while he was hosting the Academy Awards. <\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n “In those moments, I think, ‘I cannot wait until my contract is over,’” Jimmy added. “But then, I take the summer off or I go on strike, and you start going, ‘Yeah, I miss the fun stuff.’”<\/p>\n But the question is, if Jimmy Kimmel’s show does get cancelled or end or whatever you want to call it, what exactly will he do with his time?<\/p>\n That he’s given a lot of thought and he’s come to the conclusion that he’s got a lot of living to do. <\/p>\n “I have a lot of hobbies,” Jimmy said. “I know that when I die, if I\u2019m 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.”<\/p>\n Then again, the choice may not be his to make. <\/p>\n Right now, it feels like Jimmy holds all the cards to his future; if he wants to carry on, ABC would be more than happy to extend his contract again. <\/p>\n But as he sees it, it would be better for him to get out on his own terms than be cancelled – like he sees all light night shows being in the future! <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if there will be any late-night television shows on network TV in ten years. Maybe there\u2019ll be one but there won\u2019t be a lot of them,\u201d he said on the\u00a0Politickin<\/a>\u2019\u00a0<\/em>podcast while on a filming hiatus over the summer. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot to watch and now people can watch anything at anytime, they\u2019ve got all these streaming services. It used to be Johnny Carson was the only thing on at 11:30pm and so everybody watched and then David Letterman was on after Johnny so people watched those two shows but now they\u2019re so many options.”<\/p>\n Fair enough, but one would argue that streaming has opened up an entire new audience. Jimmy’s thought of that too.<\/p>\n “Maybe more significantly, the fact that people are easily able to watch your monologue online the next day, it really cancels out the need to watch it when it\u2019s on the air and once people stop watching it when it\u2019s on the air, networks are going to stop paying for it to be made,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n We don’t know if we agree with him there. Yes, there’s a whole generation who is cord cutting, but maybe that’s why network TV has to think about having a renaissance. Wouldn’t count them all out yet! <\/p>\n Jimmy Kimmel Cancelled: I’ve Signed My ‘Final Contract,’ He Confirms<\/a> was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip<\/a>.<\/p>\nJimmy Kimmel Ready To Retire: “This is My Final Contract”<\/h2>\n
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Why Jimmy Wants To See The Show End<\/h2>\n
Why Jimmy Kimmel Thinks He’ll Get Cancelled, No Matter What He Decides<\/h2>\n