''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American
late-night talk show, created and hosted by
Jimmy Kimmel
James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967), known professionally as Jimmy Kimmel, is an American television host, comedian, writer, voice actor, and producer. He has been the host and executive producer of '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-n ...
, and broadcast on
ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the
Hollywood Masonic Temple
Hollywood Masonic Temple, now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre and formerly known as Masonic Convention Hall, is a building on Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, U.S. ...
in
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It debuted on January 26, 2003 as part of ABC's
lead-out programming for
Super Bowl XXXVII. For its first ten years, ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' aired at either the midnight or 12:05 a.m.
ET/
PT before moving to 11:35 p.m. on January 8, 2013. Despite its name, the show has not regularly aired live since April 23, 2004, when censors were unable to properly
bleep censor
A bleep censor is the replacement of profanity and classified information with a beep (sound), beep sound (usually a ), used in public television, radio and social media.
History
Bleeping has been used as a standard since 1998 as a means of Censo ...
a barrage of swearing from actor
Thomas Jane.
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is produced by Kimmelot in association with
20th Television
20th Television, Inc. (formerly known as TCF Television Productions, Inc., 20th Century-Fox Television and 20th Century Fox Television) is the television studio arm of 20th Century Studios, owned by Disney Television Studios, a division of the Di ...
. It holds the title as the longest running late-night talk show on the network, having aired for more than three times as long as either ''
The Dick Cavett Show'' (1969–1975) or ''
Politically Incorrect'' (1997–2002).
History
After ''
Politically Incorrect'' was cancelled in 2002, ABC decided to create a talk show following ''
Nightline
''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...
''. Kimmel, who had co-hosted
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
sketch comedy show ''
The Man Show'' was in negotiations as host in May 2002 and was publicly announced in November. The show premiered on January 26, 2003. Because ''Nightline'' traditionally began at 11:35 p.m.
ET/
PT, ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' (and ''Politically Incorrect'' before it) originally started after midnight.
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is ABC's first attempt at a traditional
late-night talk show
A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show, originating in the American Media, United States. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It is charact ...
since its attempt to revive ''
The Dick Cavett Show'' in the 1980s. ABC had earlier attempted to directly compete with
NBC's ''
Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' in the 1960s and 1970s with ''
The Les Crane Show'', which was more of a serious interview program than light entertainment, ''
The Joey Bishop Show'' (1967–1969), featuring
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was an informal group of singers that, in its second iteration, ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business friends, s ...
member
Joey Bishop
Joseph Abraham Gottlieb (February 3, 1918 – October 17, 2007), known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a Talk ...
with
Regis Philbin as sidekick, the original ''Dick Cavett Show'' (1969–1975) with
Dick Cavett in a show that featured a mixture of cultural, popular entertainment and intellectual figures and was considered more highbrow than Carson and even a short-lived revival of NBC's ''
Tonight Starring Jack Paar'' under the name ''
Jack Paar
Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, writer, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine's ob ...
Tonite'', which alternated weeks with Cavett in 1973. While Cavett was the longest-lasting and best remembered of these attempts, none seriously threatened the domination of the ''Tonight Show''.
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' was stunted early on by an ABC affiliate body which was fulfilling existing
syndication contracts for post-
local news
In journalism, local news refers to coverage of events, by the news, in a local context that would not be of interest to another locality, or otherwise be of national or international scope. Local news, in contrast to national or international new ...
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
repeats and entertainment newsmagazines and thus delaying the show (and making the "Live!" title somewhat of a misnomer), started behind the ratings of ''
Late Show with David Letterman
''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
,'' ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...
,'' ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of the ''Late Night (franchise), Late Night'' franchise originally established by David Letterman. Hosted by Conan O'Brie ...
,'' and ''
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn,'' but gradually moved up in the ratings into 2004, and became a fairly strong competitor, capturing about half the audience of ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.''
''Nightline'', which premiered in 1979 during the
Iran hostage crisis
The Iran hostage crisis () began on November 4, 1979, when 66 Americans, including diplomats and other civilian personnel, were taken hostage at the Embassy of the United States in Tehran, with 52 of them being held until January 20, 1981. Th ...
, was able to compete with the ''Tonight Show'', particularly on days when there were major news events or ongoing crises. The growth and development of
cable news
Cable news channels are television networks devoted to television news broadcasts, with the name deriving from the proliferation of such networks during the 1980s with the advent of cable television.
In the United States, the first nationwide ca ...
and the emergence of the internet and the
24-hour news cycle
The 24-hour news cycle (or 24/7 news cycle) is the 24-hour investigation and reporting of news, concomitant with fast-paced lifestyles. The vast news resources available in recent decades have increased competition for audience and advertiser a ...
eroded ''Nightline''s originally unique, and later preeminent position as a source for late evening national and international news and its value as a
counterprogramming against ''Tonight'' and other late-night talk shows. As a result, on January 8, 2013, ''Nightline'' switched places on ABC's schedule with ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!''. Since then, ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' at 11:35 p.m. has been able to more directly compete with the ''Tonight Show'' and CBS's ''
The Late Show''.
Following the subsequent retirements of
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...
in February 2014,
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer, and auto racing team owner. He hosted late-night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982, debut of ''Late N ...
in May 2015, and
Jon Stewart in August 2015, Kimmel became the third-longest serving current host in late-night television after
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted Late-night talk show, late-night talk shows, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'B ...
and
Bill Maher
William MaherStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', January 12, 2016, PBS; on a series that lists "Jr." and "Sr." distinctions, Bill Maher's birth name was listed simply as William Maher, while his father was William Aloysius Maher Jr., and his pa ...
. O'Brien's show ended in 2021, making Kimmel the second-longest-tenured host after Maher.
On April 14, 2009, after the March
sweeps break, ''Kimmel'' began broadcasting in
720p
720p (720 lines progressive) is a progressive HD signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HD (1.78:1). All major HD broadcasting standards (such as SMPTE 292M) includ ...
high definition.
''Jimmy Kimmel Live'' increasingly became
political satire
Political satire is a type of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics. Political satire can also act as a tool for advancing political arguments in conditions where political speech and dissent are banned.
Political satir ...
during the mid-2010s after
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
ran for President of the United States. Kimmel cited issues close to him including his son’s congenital heart defect and health insurance.
On August 15, 2019, ABC and the show were fined $395,000 via a settlement by the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
(FCC) for misusing the
Emergency Alert System
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a Emergency population warning, national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via Cable television, cable ...
(EAS) tone on the October 3, 2018, episode.
At the start of 2019, when
Hearst Television's newest affiliation agreement for their ABC affiliates kicked in and forced them to give up their ability to delay the program for extended local newscasts or syndicated programming, the show now airs across the network on most stations at 11:35 p.m. ET/10:35 p.m. CT.
In May 2019, Kimmel and ABC agreed to extend his contract to host the show until 2022, which would be the show's twentieth season.
On March 16, 2020, the show suspended production due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Two weeks later, on March 30, the show resumed production from Kimmel's house,
resuming its original 12:05 a.m. timeslot; ''
Nightline
''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...
'' returned to 11:35 p.m. On April 13, episodes were reduced to 30 minutes in length. ''Nightline'' moved to 12:05 a.m., followed by an encore of the 11:35 p.m. show.
On June 18, 2020, Kimmel announced he was taking a hiatus from the show; a series of
guest hosts filled in with 30-minute episodes until he returned with the new television season after hosting the
72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. This has since become a yearly tradition for the show's July and August shows under the more traditional hour format.
On September 21, 2020, Kimmel returned to the show, which also resumed taping from the Hollywood Masonic Temple without a studio audience, the show also resumed its 60-minute format, with ''Nightline'' returning to 12:35 a.m. In January 2021, pursuant to guidance from the
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health due to a local increase in cases, the show briefly returned to its at-home format. The show has since returned to a full audience as restrictions were lifted, with the requirement that attendees have their full vaccinations.
On February 21, 2024, Kimmel hinted that he may not renew his contract for further seasons after his current contract expires in 2026 in an interview with the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', stating that "I think this is my final contract, 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."
Production
Contrary to its name, ''Kimmel'' has not aired live editions regularly since 2004; instead, it is recorded at 4:30 p.m.
Pacific Time (7:30 p.m. Eastern) on the day of broadcast outside special episodes. The program switched to taped broadcasts after actor
Thomas Jane guested and
standards and practices
In the United States, Standards and Practices (also referred to as Broadcast Standards and Practices or BS&P for short) is the name traditionally given to the department at a television network which is responsible for the moral, ethical, and le ...
was unable to easily
bleep censor
A bleep censor is the replacement of profanity and classified information with a beep (sound), beep sound (usually a ), used in public television, radio and social media.
History
Bleeping has been used as a standard since 1998 as a means of Censo ...
a sudden barrage of profanity from Jane to test their limits.
Until 2009, new episodes aired five nights a week, while from 2009 to 2012, the Friday episode was a rebroadcast of a recent episode. Starting with the January 2013 move, the Friday episode was retitled ''Jimmy Kimmel Live! This Week,'' showing highlights from the entire week of shows. However, the show has since reverted to airing a rebroadcast of a recent episode on Fridays, although current events have caused the show to occasionally air new Friday episodes.
On January 8, 2025, it was announced that ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' would suspend production due to the
ongoing wildfires in the
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
region, where
El Capitan
El Capitan (; ) is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granite monolith is about from base to summit alo ...
, the filming spot for the show, is located. On January 13, it was announced that the show would resume production at El Capitan effective immediately.
Talent
The show's
house band
A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment.
It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...
is
Cleto and the Cletones, led by saxophonist Cleto Escobedo III, a childhood friend of Kimmel. The other "Cletones" of the band are Cleto Escobedo Jr., the bandleader's father, on tenor and alto saxophone, Jeff Babko on keyboards, Toshi Yanagi on guitar,
Jimmy Earl on bass, and Jonathan Dresel on drums. Like other talk shows with live bands, Cleto and the Cletones play the show's opening and closing themes and play into and out of commercial breaks. (They usually play through the entire break for the studio audience.) The show's opening theme was written by Les Pierce, Jonathan Kimmel and Cleto Escobedo III and sung by
Robert Goulet.
The show originally had guest co-hosts each week who would sit at the desk with Kimmel and participate in skits and questioning each night's guests. Parking lot security guard
Guillermo Rodriguez became the
sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany.
Origins
The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of ...
of the show after he was caught sleeping in announcer
Dicky Barrett’s car.
The show also featured guest announcers, until comedian
Andy Milonakis took over as the show's
announcer
An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience on a broadcast media programme or live event either on radio or television.
Television and other media
Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaki ...
from late 2003 to 2004. He would also appear in comedy bits for the show. Then in 2004,
Mighty Mighty Bosstones &
The Defiant singer
Dicky Barrett took over as the show's
announcer
An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience on a broadcast media programme or live event either on radio or television.
Television and other media
Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaki ...
when the Bosstones went on hiatus. The band has since become active again and performed live on the show in 2009. Since its inception, stand-up comedian Don Barris has performed as the
warmup comic for the in-studio audience, although he rarely appears on camera; before joining JKL, Barris was the warmup comic for ''
The Man Show''.
Francis "Uncle Frank" Potenza, Kimmel's real-life uncle, served as a security guard for the show, and appeared regularly in bits on-camera with Kimmel and other employees of the show. He was a New York City police officer and a personal security guard for
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
. Potenza did not appear regularly from December 2009 through March 2010, due to illness. (In the interim, he did appear on the seventh anniversary show on January 26, 2010.) However, he later returned as a semi-regular. Potenza died on August 23, 2011, at the age of 77.
[''E!'' article:]
Jimmy Kimmel Live's Uncle Frank Dead at 77
. Veatrice Rice was another parking lot security guard who had several of her own segments on the show until her death from cancer on January 21, 2009.
Kimmel and Matt Damon
Frequently at the end of the show, Kimmel thanks the guests as usual, but then adds, "Our apologies to
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...
, we ran out of time." Damon himself told ''
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...
'' magazine in 2011 that Kimmel said he first did it at a low moment at the end of a show which had substandard guests. The show's producer liked the joke, and Kimmel continued to do it on subsequent shows for their amusement.
During a 2013 appearance on the radio talk show ''
Fresh Air
''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosl ...
'', Kimmel further stated that he only chose Damon's name because it was the first A-list actor that popped into his head that "we absolutely would not bump if he was on the show".
On September 12, 2006, Damon appeared on the show. A montage of clips demonstrating the numerous times Kimmel performed the bit was shown and, after a very lengthy introduction by Kimmel, Damon appeared on stage. After a few seconds, Kimmel apologized and stated that the show was out of time. He asked Damon if he could return the next night, to which Damon replied, "Go f**k yourself." An infuriated Damon continued to curse at Kimmel throughout the rolling of the credits, ultimately slapping the desk and walking off the set. In the December 17, 2006, issue of ''USA Weekend'', Kimmel acknowledged that the Damon incident was a joke. In the show which aired on June 5, 2007, Kimmel sent his sidekick Guillermo to the ''
Ocean's Thirteen'' premiere to interview Damon, though when he started the interview, he said that they were out of time, at which point Damon assumed that Kimmel sent him. In the August 2, 2007, episode, Kimmel then announced that Guillermo was taking on the role of
Jason Bourne, who was played by Damon, for ''
The Bourne Ultimatum''. A clip was shown in which Guillermo was playing Bourne, until Damon showed up and thought that Kimmel was now trying to bump him from his movie. Damon tried to chase Guillermo but Guillermo slapped him and jumped through a wall. In Kimmel's 2010 post-Oscar show, he featured a clip called "The Handsome Men's Club," which ended with Damon telling Kimmel, "We're all out of time," then bursting into evil laughter after Kimmel was ejected from the club for not being handsome enough. However, it turned out to be a dream, as he wakes up next to
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...
.
Damon was part of the all-star cast assembled by Kimmel for his 2012 Oscars parody, which was a mock trailer for a non-existent blockbuster called ''Movie: The Movie''. Damon appears briefly in a full grape suit, only to be informed his scene had been cut from the "film" after which he is shown storming out of the studio (as part of the trailer), cursing at Kimmel. In the mock trailer for the sequel, 'Movie: The Movie 2', Damon appears again as an alien who is munching on a sandwich only to think he is munching something else. He walks out cursing Kimmel again. However, it later shown to just be a toy.
In August 2013, Guillermo crashed a Matt Damon interview, about his upcoming movie ''
Elysium
Elysium (), otherwise known as the Elysian Fields (, ''Ēlýsion pedíon''), Elysian Plains or Elysian Realm, is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philosophical sects and cult ...
'', by promoting his own movie called "Estupido", about a stupid man, which poster had an arrow pointing towards Matt Damon. At the end of the interview, Matt removed the poster, revealing on the other side the name of another Guillermo movie called "Ass Face", also with an arrow pointing towards Matt. Matt accuses Guillermo of acting on Kimmel's orders and, facing the camera, starts to say "you...", at which time it cuts to Guillermo's promo which ends with Matt's face turning into an ass.
In February 2014, Damon was invited with the cast of ''
The Monuments Men''. Damon sat in another seat. A fake fire was activated at the end of the show when Kimmel asked Damon a question.
During Kimmel's 2016 post-Oscar special,
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...
wore a very large coat for his appearance, and Damon emerged from the coat for the interview. However, he was removed from the studio by an enraged Kimmel, who then moved on to interview Affleck. Later, Damon appeared in a sketch about the movie that Affleck stars in, ''
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,'' reprising his role as astronaut
Mark Watney.
When Kimmel hosted the
89th Academy Awards on February 26, 2017, he renewed his feud with Damon, first in a skit harshly criticizing Damon's film ''
We Bought a Zoo'', having the announcer introduce him as only the unnamed "guest" of
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...
, and personally
conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...
the orchestra to play him off while Damon was talking (before announcing the nominees and award winner).
On an appearance on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...
'', Damon praised Fallon for his speedy invitation process, which Kimmel poked fun of.
In June 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
when Kimmel was hosting the show from his house, Damon emerged from one of Kimmel's bedrooms, revealing to have been there during the whole pandemic and demanded to be on the show, when Kimmel wanted to take a break. Then it was revealed Kimmel's wife had been cheating on him with Damon again. This resulted in Kimmel telling Damon he is not on the show.
On April 1, 2022, with Jimmy Fallon hosting in place of Kimmel for April Fools' Day, Fallon announced Matt Damon as a guest on the show. Instead, Justin Timberlake emerged wearing Boston Red Sox apparel and carrying a Dunkin' Donuts coffee cup, loosely in character as Matt Damon. The interview ended with Timberlake spray painting "I <3 Matt Damon" on the front of Kimmel's desk.
"I'm fucking Matt Damon" video
In a segment that aired on January 31, 2008, Kimmel's then long-time girlfriend
Sarah Silverman appeared on the show and announced, via a music video, that she had been "
fucking Matt Damon." Damon took an additional jab at Kimmel's long running gag by telling Kimmel at the end of the video, "Jimmy, we're out of time. Sorry."
On February 24, on Kimmel's third post-Oscar show, he debuted his rebuttal video, announcing that he was doing the same to
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...
. Kimmel introduced his star-studded musical by addressing Damon and vowing, "You take something I love from me, I'm gonna take something you love from you."
Affleck is Damon's longtime acting and writing collaborator; the two first became prominent as such for ''
Good Will Hunting'' and later channeled this collaboration into ''
Project Greenlight
''Project Greenlight'' is an American documentary television series focusing on first-time filmmakers being given the chance to direct a feature film. It was created by Alex Keledjian, developed by Eli Holzman and produced by Ben Affleck, Matt ...
''.
In addition to Affleck, the video featured
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...
,
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (, ; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his roles in film and television, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Don Cheadle, multiple accolades including two Golden Globe Award ...
,
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...
,
Hynden Walch,
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. Prolific in both comedy and drama, Cameron Diaz filmography, her films have grossed over $3 billion in the U.S. box-office. Her output of romantic comedies in the late 1990s a ...
,
Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. With a career spanning five decades, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, along with nominations for four Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award.
After appearing in se ...
,
Benji Madden and
Joel Madden from
Good Charlotte,
Dicky Barrett,
Christopher Mintz-Plasse,
Lance Bass
James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, actor, and producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the Bass (voice type), bass singer for the boy band NSYNC. The band has sold over 70 million records, becoming one of ...
,
Dominic Monaghan,
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...
,
Pete Wentz
Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III (born June 5, 1979) is an American musician who is the bassist and lyricist for the rock band Fall Out Boy. Before the band's formation in 2001, Wentz was a fixture of the Chicago hardcore scene and was the lead si ...
,
Joan Jett,
Huey Lewis,
Perry Farrell,
Macy Gray
Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known professionally as Macy Gray, is an American contemporary R&B, R&B and soul music, soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influence ...
,
Rebecca Romijn
Rebecca Alie O'Connell ( , ; later Romijn-Stamos; born November 6, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Mystique in the original trilogy (2000–2006) of the ''X-Men'' film series, as Joan from '' The P ...
,
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, ...
,
Jessica DiCicco, and unnamed choir singers as recording booth singers, along with
Brad Pitt
William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...
as a delivery man. The video gained widespread media attention, with Kimmel jokingly telling the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
,'' "Every once in a while, Hollywood rallies itself for a worthy cause."
On its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' put Damon as an action star at No. 60 and the Silverman video on No. 62, writing, "A talk-show host's famous comedian girlfriend confesses in a catchy song that she's shtupping No. 60? Yeah, that'll go viral."
In 2008, the segment won a
Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.
''Jimmy Kimmel Sucks!''
For the 10th anniversary episode on January 24, 2013, Damon took over hosting duties; for the occasion, the show was renamed ''Jimmy Kimmel Sucks!'' The episode began with a sequence of clips showing Kimmel "bumping" Damon, and continued with Damon taking command of the show, while Kimmel was tied to a chair and gagged for the remainder of the episode. Damon then replaced Guillermo with
Andy Garcia and bandleader Cleto with
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...
, before bringing in
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...
to do the monologue.
The show had numerous guests, including
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...
,
Gary Oldman
Sir Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Gary Oldman, various accolades, including an Academ ...
,
Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received List of awards and nom ...
,
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...
,
Demi Moore
Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...
, and
Sarah Silverman, along with an on-screen cameo by
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...
during Damon's monologue. There were also numerous taped pieces congratulating Damon on hosting, including by
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...
,
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has performed in movies, Broadway theater, television, and made records of popular music. Known for her extensive work on screen and stage, she has received many accola ...
,
John Krasinski
John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-w ...
,
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...
,
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (, ; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his roles in film and television, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Don Cheadle, multiple accolades including two Golden Globe Award ...
,
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...
, and Kimmel's parents. Damon also "revealed" that Kimmel keeps "bumping" Damon out of jealousy: a clip shows Kimmel's unsuccessful attempts to audition for all movie roles that Damon played. At the episode's end, Damon turns the "We ran out of time" joke on Kimmel after asking Kimmel if he had anything to say. The episode was the highest-rated late night show that evening, and ABC elected to rebroadcast it in primetime the following week.
Jay Leno parody
During the
2010 ''Tonight Show'' conflict, Kimmel donned a gray wig and fake chin, performing his entire January 12, 2010, show in character as
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...
. With his bandleader, Cleto Escobedo, parodying Leno's bandleader
Kevin Eubanks, Kimmel started out his monologue with "It's good to be here on ABC. Hey, Cleto, you know what ABC stands for? Always Bump Conan." He also referenced the "People of Earth" letter written by
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted Late-night talk show, late-night talk shows, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'B ...
, noting how O'Brien declined to participate in the "destruction" of ''The Tonight Show'', commenting as Leno that "Fortunately, though, I will! I'll burn it down if I have to!" Leno called Kimmel the next morning to discuss the bit, and at the end of the call, Leno suggested he come over and appear on his show. When his booking department called to confirm his appearance on a "10 at 10" segment, Kimmel agreed immediately. When he received the questions for his January 14 appearance—such as "What's your favorite snack junk food?"—he realized Leno intended to neutralize the scathing parody and paint the two as friends.
Kimmel, however, was upfront with wanting to discuss the fiasco at hand, and upon his appearance, attempted to steer the questions that way: when asked about his favorite prank, he responded, "I think the best prank I ever pulled was, I told a guy once, 'Five years from now I'm going to give you my show.' And then when the five years came, I gave it to him and I took it back, almost instantly." Another example came from when Leno asked, "Ever order anything off the TV?" Kimmel replied, "Like when NBC ordered your show off the TV?"
Following similar remarks to more questions, Kimmel closed the segment with this comment: "Listen, Jay. Conan and I have children. All you have to take care of is cars! We have lives to lead here! You've got eight hundred million dollars! For God's sakes, leave our shows alone!" Leno never fought back and accepted the bit as comedy (he ascribed it as Kimmel attempting to score some publicity), but Leno's producer, Debbie Vickers, was furious.
Kimmel discussed the appearance during an interview with
Marc Maron
Marc David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' and appeared more than forty times ...
for the latter's
podcast
A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
in 2012. Kimmel stated that he felt O'Brien was not given a proper chance, but that he was also motivated by his own history with Leno. According to Kimmel, Leno had some years prior been in serious discussions with ABC about the possibility of jumping ship from NBC. During this period, Leno initiated a friendship with Kimmel, wanting to ensure that they would be on good terms if the move was made. (Under that scenario, Leno would have taken Kimmel's time slot and become his lead-in.) However, after Leno made the arrangement to remain at NBC, "those conversations were gone," according to Kimmel. Realizing that Leno's relationship with him had been artificial, Kimmel felt "worked over," reasoning that Leno was using the ABC discussions as a bargaining tactic to try to get his old job back.
Sets
The stage where the show is taped has gone through many changes, from the addition of a platform in front of the stage for Kimmel to do his monologue, to various stage backgrounds. In January 2005, the show's original set, at the TV studio in the
Hollywood Masonic Temple
Hollywood Masonic Temple, now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre and formerly known as Masonic Convention Hall, is a building on Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, U.S. ...
(now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre), which had video screens in the background and the band performing on the left side of the stage, was replaced with the current set, which has a city in the background. The band now performs on the right side of the stage.
In the special February 25, 2007, episode of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' (the second "After the Academy Awards" show), the second set was slightly tweaked when an illustrated picture of a city, which was seen in the background from January 2005 to February 2007, was replaced with a 3D
collage
Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...
of Los Angeles and Hollywood (including the adjacent
Dolby Theatre
The Dolby Theatre (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre) is a live-performance auditorium in the Ovation Hollywood shopping mall and entertainment complex, on Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue (Los Angeles), Highland Avenue, in the Holly ...
(formerly Kodak Theatre) across from the studio where his show is broadcast from). The 3D image, which was first used during
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...
's outdoor stage performances in the September 16, 2006, episode, was created by artists Colin Cheer and Brian Walters.
A brand-new set was unveiled January 8, 2013, coinciding with the show's move to the earlier 11:35 p.m. timeslot. The new set is similar to the previous one, though the desk and chairs are no longer a stationary set element, and are only brought out for the guest interviews. Later, the traditional city
duratrans was replaced with a large floor-to-ceiling curved video display known as the "Wall of America", which most of the time displays the traditional background, but is now also able to be used for video pieces and bits, along with interviews (including ones where Kimmel is not at his desk; an instance of this was an interview through Cisco's Jabber Guest with actress
Viola Davis
Viola Davis ( ; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. List of awards and nominations received by Viola Davis, Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. ''Time (magazine), Time'' named her one of ...
after the first-season finale of ''
How to Get Away with Murder'' in February 2015 where she was unable to fly to Los Angeles from the East Coast due to weather issues) which are branded under
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, m ...
's
telepresence
Telepresence is the appearance or sensation of a person being present at a place other than their true location, via telerobotics or video.
Telepresence requires that the users' senses interact with specific stimuli in order to provide the feeli ...
technology. The desk/chairs component of the set is also not permanently staged unlike most talk shows, being quickly built on-stage only after Kimmel has finished his monologue, skits and bits at center stage, a build-out seen every episode in a 'split' commercial break where Kimmel is seen interacting with the audience during it.
Music
The ''Jimmy Kimmel Live Concert Series'' segment comprises a musical performance at the end of the show, which is performed either in a more intimate space on the second floor of the Masonic Temple, or a nearby outdoor stage, along with rare on-location performances, and since the pandemic, more often remotely performed. the musical performance was perform by numerous musician including
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...
,
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...
,
Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...
, and Happa-tai from Japanese TV show, Warau Inu.
Coors Light sponsored most of the show's musical performances from 2004 to 2006. In June 2005, the show partnered with
Pontiac for its concerts, which were held on the "Pontiac Garage" outdoor stage in Hollywood. the "Pontiac Garage" campaign was created
Leo Burnett Worldwide for the show including The
Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
Roadtrip in a
Pontiac G6, and the live advertisements to coincide with the launch of the
Pontiac G8 (a rebadged
Holden VE Commodore). Pontiac was sponsored for 4 years until the sponsor's parent company,
General Motors
General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
,
filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and announced the termination of the brand. Beginning in October 2009,
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC ( ) is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...
's
Bud Light (initially Bud Light Golden Wheat in 2009–10) replaced Pontiac as the segment's sponsor. In January 2013,
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
took over sponsorship. In 2014, AT&T took over sponsorship, then in 2015
Samsung
Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
replaced AT&T as the segment's sponsor, in 2016
Cîroc replaced Samsung as the segment's sponsor and in 2017
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...
became the segment's sponsor.
Special broadcasts
On occasion, a special live edition is broadcast, usually after major events like the
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
(except in years where Kimmel has hosted the actual ceremony). From the show's debut in 2003 until 2022, about four to seven half-hour
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
-themed broadcasts under the title ''Jimmy Kimmel Game Night'' aired at 8:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. ET on Sundays) as lead-in programming to
ABC's coverage of the
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
. This was discontinued in 2023 after the NBA moved up its weeknight start times (making the game and pregame show to fully air in primetime), with ABC adding special 30-minute episodes of shows on Sundays; the Kimmel shows were also made more impractical by a
writers' strike entering its second month.
Openings
Cold open
When the show aired at 12:05 ET, the show began with a two-minute segment before the theme song and actual show. Originally a miniature monologue and preview of the guests, the segment expanded to include miniature skits and other ways to plug a product from one of the show's sponsors. (These, better known as "integrated commercials," are rarely repeated.) The cold open device was later adopted by ''
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airi ...
'', and it was used by
James Corden for occasional segments for
his version. These segments were dropped when the show moved to 11:35. For
ABC's O&O stations and some affiliates, Kimmel does tape a promo introducing the night's guests and bits meant to be bedded into a late segment of their
local news
In journalism, local news refers to coverage of events, by the news, in a local context that would not be of interest to another locality, or otherwise be of national or international scope. Local news, in contrast to national or international new ...
casts.
Show opening
The show's original opening sequence was a fly around of
Hollywood before transitioning to Kimmel entering the theater as he flips the switch from the left side. It was later changed to a stop-motion piece which showcased Kimmel in casual gear with his dry cleaning stopping at various places in Hollywood until arriving at the theater.
On October 27, 2011, the show introduced a new opening sequence that shows Kimmel zip-lining through Hollywood until he arrives at the theater.
In January 2015, the show premiered a new opening, created by
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American Film, motion picture visual effects, computer animation and stereo conversion digital studio founded by George Lucas on May 26, 1975. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lu ...
. The sequence begins with Kimmel turning on the lights of Los Angeles from the Hollywood sign before the background instantly changes to several locations in Los Angeles before transforming into the theater where Kimmel leads the camera in. It was later shortened with the Hollywood sign was already turned on and the background doesn't change. In 2016, after Kimmel grew out his beard, the sequence was modified slightly to remove Kimmel's presence.
From March to August 2020, during the time the show is filmed from his home, Kimmel's kids created a unique opening sequence.
Starting in late September 2020, upon Kimmel's return to the studio, a picture of the classic 1962 ABC ID, fully recreated to fit the widescreen format, alongside the animated version in the October 30, 2020 episode, was used. It was later removed in December 2022. It was previously used as a variant with the
American flag being shown in the transition from 4:3 to 16:9 in the special episode, ''Intermission Accomplished: A Tribute to Trump''. The intro has been simplified with the shot of the stage before Jimmy comes to the stage. Starting from May 2021, upon the audience returning, the simplified intro now shows the show's logo from multiple angles, which now shows the sign being turned on after the "Previously on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!''" segment starting in September 2023.
However, with every broadcast, the show's announcer,
Dicky Barrett, then
Lou Wilson starting in 2022, consistently starts off by saying, "From Hollywood, it's Jimmy Kimmel Live! Tonight..." and then listing the show's guests. At the end of the opening, Barrett comes up with a different introduction quip after "And now..." every time such as "without further ado..." or "I warned you..." and finishing with saying "Here's
Jimmy Kimmel
James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967), known professionally as Jimmy Kimmel, is an American television host, comedian, writer, voice actor, and producer. He has been the host and executive producer of '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-n ...
!" while elongating the "-el" sound just to give the show its own uniqueness. In the Game Night specials, Barrett doesn't do the introduction quips and will say "And now, here's Jimmy Kimmel!". Starting from 2020, Barrett, then Wilson, with the latter being shown as he introduces Kimmel to the stage, the introduction quips were removed and will now say "And now, Jimmy Kimmel!". However, from September 2020 to May 2021, Barrett would say "And now, Jimmy Kimmel." to give a lighter tone to what he normally say. Originally,
Andy Milonakis was the announcer.
For the show's 20th anniversary episode, it shows an evolution of the show's intro, which starts from the 2003 version all the way to the 2021 version, ending with the show's current logo. The screen ratio transitioned from 4:3 to 16:9 when it gets to the 2011 version. Wilson, however, was not shown after the intro.
Starting in September 2023, the program starts with a "Previously on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!''" segment before the title sequence, which shows a video on social media, parodying a recap segment of various drama shows. That segment would later be dropped in late February 2024.
Starting in late January 2025, a new intro was debuted with a drone flyover of the roof of the
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel,
Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It runs through the Hollywood, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and Los Feliz districts. Its western terminus is at Sunset Plaza Drive in the Hollyw ...
and outside the theater, alongside other landmarks, as well as
Cleto and the Cletones performing on the set. It also featured pictures of
Oscar Awards on display, the
Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
building and Kimmel's star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...
.
Notable episodes
* The
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...
vs.
Chewbacca Feud. On July 27, 2011, Ford appeared in a pre-show segment in which he was shown arguing in his dressing room with Chewbacca, his former co-star from the original ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' trilogy, over an unexplained issue apparently related to Chewbacca cheating with
Ford's wife. On April 17, 2013, during another appearance on Kimmel, Chewbacca appeared in the audience during a question-and-answer session; Ford reignited the argument regarding Chewie's apparent dalliance with his wife, and the staged segment ended with a furious Ford "storming" out of the studio. Finally, on November 24, 2015, Ford settled his feud with Chewbacca by saving him from suicide, and remembering together the good old times.
* Feud with
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
. The rap musician launched a tirade directed at Kimmel on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
after a September 25, 2013, sketch involving two children re-enacting West's recent interview with
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
in which he calls himself the biggest rock star on the planet. Kimmel reveals the following night that West called him to demand an apology shortly before taping. In October 2013, Kimmel had West back on the show and apologized to him.
* During the October 16, 2013, episode, Kimmel held the "Kids Table" segment to invite several 6–7-year-old children to discuss
the U.S. debt problem: "We owe the Chinese a lot of money, 1.3 trillion dollars." A boy immediately suggested to "kill everyone in China." This comment elicited some laughter from the audience and Kimmel laughed it off and commented, "That's an interesting idea." He later asked, "Should we allow the Chinese to live?" The boy stuck to his answer.
The show drew fire from offended Asian Americans and Chinese citizens. An online poll showed that 90% of the respondents were angered, saddened or guarded about the show. On October 28, 2013, Asian Americans marched through the streets of San Francisco protesting about Kimmel's show and his supposed condoning of genocide. The clip of this segment has since been removed from Kimmel's YouTube account, but can still be seen when viewing the entire episode.
*
Back to the Future
''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985 ...
Day. On October 21, 2015, the future date featured in ''
Back to the Future Part II
''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale; both wrote the story. It is a sequel to the 1985 film ''Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the Back ...
'',
Michael J. Fox
Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian and American actor and activist. Beginning his career as a child actor in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ...
and
Christopher Lloyd appeared as
Marty McFly
Marty McFly is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Back to the Future (franchise), ''Back to the Future'' franchise. He is a high school student living in the fictional town of Hill Valley (Back to the Future), Hill Valley, California ...
and
"Doc" Emmett Brown arriving from 1985 in the
DeLorean time machine, with Jimmy explaining what life in 2015 was like. Afterwards, Jimmy interviewed Fox as himself.
* Birth of William Kimmel. Returning to the show on May 1, 2017, after a hiatus, Jimmy, in his monologue, tearfully recounted the open-heart surgery his newborn son, William, had to undergo after it was discovered he had a congenital disease. Furthermore, the host made an impassioned plea to lawmakers in the United States government on both sides to ensure everyone has access to health care, referencing repeated efforts by Republicans in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
to repeal the
Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
(an effort, by coincidence, House Republicans managed to reach later that week, on May 4). To care for his child, Kimmel took the rest of the week off, with guest hosts
Will Arnett
William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix sitcom '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and the titular ch ...
,
Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, and television host. He is known for his leading roles in television shows such as Andre "Dre" Johnson on the comedy series ''Black-ish'' (2014–2022), Marlin Boulet on the ...
,
Kristen Bell
Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. List of Kristen Bell performances, Her work includes both film and television, and List of awards and nominations received by Kristen Bell, h ...
and
David Spade filling in. In November 2017
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...
,
Dave Grohl
David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...
,
Channing Tatum
Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his Breakthrough role, breakthrough with the sports comedy film ''She's the Man'' (2006) and t ...
and
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress and producer. She is known for starring in both action film franchises and independent dramas, and her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. The List of high ...
filled in as guest hosts for Kimmel when his son had his second heart surgery.
* No Studio Audience. On January 27, 2020, Kimmel elected to tape the show in an empty studio following the death of
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
superstar
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...
, who had appeared on the program 15 times by Kimmel's count. An emotional Kimmel explained that he didn't feel it was appropriate to do a comedy show under the circumstances and instead spent the hour reflecting on Bryant's legacy.
* Guest Host
Pete Buttigieg. On March 12, 2020, former
Democratic presidential candidate and
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...
Mayor
Pete Buttigieg guest-hosted the program. Buttigieg delivered the opening monologue, interviewed actors
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...
and
Tony Hale
Anthony Russell Hale (born September 30, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He is most known for his comedic leading roles in the Fox series '' Arrested Development'' as Buster Bluth, and as Gary Walsh on the HBO series '' Veep''. For the ...
, and briefly played the keyboard. Segments included a skit in which Buttigieg applied for a new job at
Wetzel's Pretzels and a mock
game show
A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...
(hosted by
LeVar Burton
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host. He played Geordi La Forge in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994), Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries ''Roots'' (1977 ...
) in which he tested his knowledge of ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' against Stewart. (He lost.) Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, several crew members and Buttigieg's husband
Chasten served as the in-studio audience. This marks the first time a politician has hosted an American
late night talk show. This was also the final broadcast of the show before it was shot from lockdown.
* Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon switch. On April 1, 2022, Kimmel swapped places with
Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...
as part of an
April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...
prank, with Fallon hosting ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' and Kimmel hosting ''
The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...
'' in New York City. Only a small number of producers, writers and network executives were notified prior.
Segments
Mean Tweets
In March 2012, in honor of
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
's sixth anniversary, ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' featured a segment called "Mean Tweets" with celebrities—including
Will Ferrell,
Jason Bateman
Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Michael Bluth in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox / Netflix sitcom ''Arrested Development'' (2003–2019) and Marty Byrde in the Netflix crime drama s ...
,
Kristen Bell
Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. List of Kristen Bell performances, Her work includes both film and television, and List of awards and nominations received by Kristen Bell, h ...
,
Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952), also known mononymously as Roseanne, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (19 ...
,
Anna Faris
Anna Kay Faris ( ; born November 29, 1976) is an American actress. Known for playing comedic roles, she rose to prominence with the lead part of Cindy Campbell in the Scary Movie (film series), ''Scary Movie'' films (2000–2006). Her film credi ...
, and
Kathy Griffin—reading aloud actual tweets directed toward them by Twitter users while the song "
Everybody Hurts
"Everybody Hurts" is a song by American rock band R.E.M. from their eighth studio album, '' Automatic for the People'' (1992), and released as a single in April 1993 by Warner Bros. Records. It was written by the band and produced by them with ...
" by
R.E.M. plays in the background.
The segment was extremely popular, with more than 38 million views on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
by April 2015.
Additional "Mean Tweets" editions have aired, featuring celebrities including
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...
,
Julia Roberts,
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
,
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...
,
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
,
Sofía Vergara,
Jon Hamm
Jonathan Daniel Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Don Draper in the period drama series '' Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which he won numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and tw ...
,
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress and comedian. She has gained acclaim for starring in a string of successful comedy series as well as several comedy films. She has received List of awards ...
,
Aaron Paul,
Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...
,
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...
,
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...
,
Vanessa Hudgens,
Tim Robbins
Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film '' The Shawshank Redemption ''(1994), and Jacob Singer in '' Jacob's Ladder'' (1990), as well as winning an Academy ...
,
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as a charming and vulnerable romantic leading man, and has since transitioned into a character actor. He has received List of awards ...
and
Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...
. The tweets selected for the segment are invariably abusive, vulgar, or rude, often objecting to the celebrity's physical appearance or perceived lack of talent. In many cases, the celebrity is then afforded the opportunity for a brief (albeit scripted) response to the mean tweet. The show has also aired several themed editions of "Mean Tweets," including special
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
,
NFL,
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
, and music editions. In March 2015, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
, who was a guest star, took part in a "President Obama edition" of "Mean Tweets," during which he read tweets from people
mocking his jeans and blaming him for the high price of beer. The Obama segment attracted more than 10 million views in one day.
On occasion, Kimmel will introduce a surprise celebrity guest for a live on-stage "Mean Tweet", which was later made into a compilation. Celebrities who appeared on stage include
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is known for his Leading actor, leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning over seven decades, he has received List of awards and nominations received by ...
,
Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional w ...
and
Halle Berry.
This Week in Unnecessary Censorship
A Thursday-night segment, which features clips of innocuous television shows (such as newscasts) deliberately edited (typically with
bleeps) to make them appear offensive.
Jimmy Kimmel YouTube Challenge
Kimmel will give out a challenge to viewers asking them to videotape themselves pulling a prank on a family member or significant other, and then revealing that "Jimmy Kimmel told me to do it". The best clips are then aired on the show.
Lie Witness News
A correspondent not seen on camera will ask pedestrians on
Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It runs through the Hollywood, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and Los Feliz districts. Its western terminus is at Sunset Plaza Drive in the Hollyw ...
a fake question related to an actual current news event. Most of the people answering the question will usually play along, giving the impression that they believe that the so-called fake event really happened.
Jimmy Kimmel Pedestrian Question
Kimmel will send a "correspondent" not seen on camera to ask a set of random pedestrians a question related to a certain theme. Kimmel will then have the audience guess the answer to the question, then will reveal the answer to the audience.
Halloween candy YouTube segments
Starting in 2011, every
Halloween
Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
, Kimmel asks his viewers to take away their children's Halloween candy, videotape their kids' reactions once they tell their kids that they ate their Halloween candy, and post it on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
with the respective hashtag. Once his team has compiled all the YouTube videos, he airs them on his broadcast days later. These segments have attracted criticism for potential promotion of
emotional abuse.
Generation Gap
This segment, a quiz show between different generations of family members was spun off into its own game show produced by Kimmel and
Mark Burnett
James Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960) is a British television producer who has won thirteen Emmy Awards including ten Primetime, one Sports Emmy Award and two Daytime Emmy Awards. His other accolades include five Producers Guild of America A ...
. Originally ordered in 2019, it premiered on July 7, 2022, and is hosted by
Kelly Ripa
Kelly Maria Ripa (; born October 2, 1970) is an American actress and talk show host. Since 2001, she has been the co-host of the syndicated morning talk show '' Live! with Kelly and Mark'' in various formats. Her co-hosts have included Regis ...
.
Other end-of-show segments
At the end of some shows, there are comedians doing comedy. This is occasionally seen in place of the ''Jimmy Kimmel Live Concert Series'' segment. Another end-of-show segment is the rarely seen ''Future Talent Showcase.''
International broadcasts
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' airs worldwide on multiple outlets. In Australia,
The Comedy Channel began airing the program in September 2009; however, it was replaced in March 2010 by the return of ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...
.'' The Comedy Channel resumed airing the program from September 22, 2015.
In Canada, the show previously aired on
BiteTV
Makeful is a Canadian pay television channel owned by Blue Ant Media focused on lifestyle programming relating to do-it-yourself projects such as food, design, style, and crafts in connection with maker culture (from which the channel takes its na ...
and
CHCH. The show aired on
Citytv
Citytv (sometimes shortened to City, which was the network's official branding from 2012 to 2018) is a Television in Canada, Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consis ...
from 2012 until September 20, 2014. Even after its move to 11:35, Citytv continued to tape delay the show to midnight to maintain its hour-long late night
newscasts. ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' began airing on
CTV Comedy Channel (formerly The Comedy Network) beginning on September 22, 2014, initially airing in simulcast with ABC. However, in January 2015, the program was yet again tape-delayed to midnight in favor of ''
The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore''. ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' aired on The Comedy Network until the end of August 2017. The following month, the show was added to
CMT Canada's schedule, initially airing in simulcast with ABC. The show aired on CMT Canada until August 2018 and has not aired on a Canadian channel since. However, the show is still available to Canadians through imported ABC stations included in standard pay-TV packages. In 2022, the show returns tape delayed to Citytv.
In India ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' premiered with its 14th season, and has aired on weeknights since at 9:00pm (IST)
STAR World India. The show airs 12 hours after the U.S. broadcast since September 23, 2015.
YouTube viewers for late night shows
, the ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' YouTube channel shows a cumulative of 13,676,433,211 views, and ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...
'' channel shows a cumulative of 10,472,151,866 views.
Ratings among late night talk shows
As of November 2022, ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is the 20th most popular show on ABC and 97th overall on TV, watched by a total number of 1,746,000 people (0.56% rating, up +23% from October 23 to October 30, 2022) per episode, as of the average weekly audience measurement for the period ending January 22, 2023, surpassing ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...
'', which was watched by 1,278,000 people for the same period.
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' has been repeatedly dominating late night talk shows among adults 18-49. Some ratings examples mentioned below:
During the week of Jan. 16, 2023, ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' ranked as the No. 1 late-night talk show among adults 18-49 (307,000), beating
NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' by 21% (253,000) and
CBS' ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...
'' by 27% (241,000). In fact, ''Kimmel'' posted its largest advantage over ''The Tonight Show'' so far that season among adults 18-49 (+21%).
The Monday broadcast of ''Kimmel'' (on 1/16/23) was the No. 1 late-night telecast of the week among adults 18-49 (584,000).
A ratings report for the week of September 26, 2022, showed that when broadcasting from
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' ranked as the No. 1 late-night talk show among adults 18-49 (301,000), beating ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' by 8% (278,000) and ''The Late Show Starring Stephen Colbert'' by 14% (264,000). ''Kimmel'' stood as the No. 1 late-night talk show for the second week in a row with adults 18-49. Monday's telecast of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' was the week's No. 1 late-night telecast among adults 18-49 (501,000). ''Kimmel'' claimed two of the week's Top 3 late-night telecasts with its Monday (501,000) and Thursday (311,000) broadcasts, respectively.
During the week of June 6, 2022, ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' ranked as the No. 1 late-night talk show for the two weeks in a row among adults 18-49 (443,000).
For the 2020-21 television season, ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' beat ''The Tonight Show'' in total viewers.
Awards and nominations
Primetime Emmy Awards
Creative Arts Emmy Awards
See also
*
List of late-night network TV programs
*
List of late-night American network TV programs
Notes
References
Additional sources
*
External links
*
*
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