Kimmel’s reign might be ticking down to its final seconds.
Sources insist “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will end after next season — and that his ABC contract simply won’t be renewed. The network is already pushing back, calling the whispers “inaccurate” and “speculative.” Behind the scenes, politics, cost-cutting and a surprise ratings winner in Rosie O’Donnell are colliding in ways
After nearly a quarter century of monologues, pranks and bruising political jokes, Jimmy Kimmel suddenly finds his late-night future being debated without him. Insiders say ABC has quietly decided not to extend his year-to-year deal beyond 2027, even as the network publicly dismisses the chatter as premature. The timing is explosive: Rosie O’Donnell just delivered a buzzy, ratings-boosting guest-hosting stint, proving the franchise can survive – and even spike – without its longtime star.
Those close to the show insist this is about money and fatigue, not Donald Trump, despite Kimmel’s bitter clashes with the former president and the on-air quip that helped get him briefly pulled last year. New Disney boss Josh D’Amaro is slashing costs and nudging veterans toward the exits, and Kimmel, now one of TV’s last old-guard hosts, may simply be next. If this really is the end, his final episode in May will feel less like a cancellation and more like a televised farewell to an era.
