Jimmy Kimmel got candid about the talk show’s future and the possibility of retiring it altogether. Kimmel revealed his contract with ABC is due to expire in May 2027. Although the process of contract negotiations has not begun yet, the talk show host has given serious thought to retiring from late-night television.
Jimmy Kimmel’s producer claims ‘he’s tired’ amid discussion of talk show’s future
Jimmy Kimmel opened up about the future of his celebrated talk show and gave fans a sneak peek at his retirement plans. His comments come on the heels of CBS’s decision to cancel Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show after a successful run of eleven seasons.
During an interview with Vulture on Monday, Kimmel admitted that he had previously picked out an endpoint. The 58-year-old said, “Six years ago, I told them I thought I was done when Biden was president.” Interestingly, last year ABC offered Kimmel only a one-year extension, rather than the show’s typical three-year renewal.
Kimmel responded with an expression of understanding, “Everything is so tumultuous. That seemed to make sense. It’s definitely not how it’s gone in the past.”
The host also revealed that ABC would typically begin discussions about renewing his contract around this time. However, the network has not yet broached the subject.
Kimmel confessed, “I don’t know what ABC is going to want to do. 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.”
The 58-year-old also revealed that he is mentally preparing himself to retire the show altogether. Kimmel said, “It’s important to me to be responsible. 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 revealed to the outlet that “he’s been talking about leaving for a while.” Irwin hopes Kimmel will stick around for another two years, but that now seems unlikely. She dished, “I don’t know if Jimmy can do it for that long. He’s tired.”
