Jimmy Kimmel may not be cancelled, but it does look like the Live talk show will be ending in the coming year.
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.
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.
Until now.
Jimmy reviews his script ahead of hosting the Oscars. ((Photo by Al Seib/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images))
Jimmy Kimmel Ready To Retire: “This is My Final Contract”
Since January 2003, Jimmy Kimmel Live has been delighting fans who stay up late, or at the very least catch the recaps on Youtube.
Twenty-one years later, Jimmy is still as popular as he ever was. And, he keeps making headlines with his show! (Have you read about the George Santos lawsuit yet? And what about his Aaron Rodgers feud?)
But in speaking with the Los Angeles Times, Jimmy admitted that, despite having said it before and backtracked, he’s ready to move on from his late night gig.
“I think this is my final contract,” he said, though admittedly, he immediately gave himself an out, should he want it.
Jimmy Kimmel and wife Molly McNearney attend the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on January 15, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. ( (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images))
“I hate to even say it, because everyone’s laughing at me now,” he explained.
“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.”
Why Jimmy Wants To See The Show End
“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.
“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.”
Will Jimmy really quit his show? ((Photo by Mindy Small/Getty Images))
“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.’”
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?
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.
“I have a lot of hobbies. I love to cook, I love to draw. I imagine myself learning to do sculptures,” Jimmy said. “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.”
Jimmy Kimmel Cancelled: I’ve Signed My ‘Final Contract,’ He Confirms was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.