After less than a week, ABC is set to end its suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with the show set to relaunch at 11:35 PM ET on Tuesday in what is likely to be the biggest audience in the show’s history.
If you’ve been enjoying your stay under a rock, let’s briefly reset the scene, shall we?
Kimmel’s suspension came after he argued that the assassin of Charlie Kirk was a member of the Make America Great Again movement, and laughed at the reaction from President Donald Trump to Kirk’s death.
In an appearance on Benny Johnson’s podcast two days later, FCC chair Brendan Carr called on ABC to suspend Jimmy Kimmel, arguing that the commission had a “strong case” against the late-night host for “an intentional effort to mislead the American people about a very core fundamental fact.”
ABC subsequently announced Kimmel’s suspension hours later, after affiliate ownership groups Sinclair and Nexstar announced they would preempt his late-night program.
Carr later championed the moves from Sinclair and Nexstar, stating that they did “the right thing” and took “quick action” to being “responsive to the needs and values of the local communities you serve.” He concluded by noting his hope that “other broadcasters follow” the lead set forth by those two entities.
So, now that we’re all caught up, I think there are three very intriguing questions to ponder ahead of the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live! this evening.
Will Jimmy Kimmel Show Remorse, Double Down, or Completely Avoid the Topic Altogether?
This, in my opinion, is the biggest question mark of the entire ordeal.
Jimmy Kimmel would have every right, in my view, to be angry, bitter, and petty in his return. The opportunity to poke the bear would be difficult to pass up, especially for someone with Kimmel’s history.
But I don’t think he can afford to do that. Because it feels like the ice is dangerously thin already. It’s tough to justify being controversial, edgy, or envelope-pushing when two of the largest affiliate owners — Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group — have either previously stated they were no longer going to carry your show, or have reaffirmed their commitment to not broadcast your show.
Can Jimmy Kimmel afford to show remorse, either? If you’ve made your living on saying things you believe but sometimes people don’t want to hear, do you lose your credibility by looking like a company shill and doing their bidding? Now, it’s possible Kimmel found genuine remorse while reflecting on the controversy during his time away. That remorse, though, isn’t likely to play well with either side of the audience.
So, that’s a hell of a spot to be in.
Furthermore, Kimmel can’t just avoid the topic altogether. The “bury your head in the sand and hope all of your problems go away” strategy isn’t going to work here. He has to say something. Because even the most casual observer is going to take a peek at what he did — or in some cases — didn’t say, whether that be live, on YouTube/TikTok, or on any other of a variety of ways people consume content these days.
In some aspects, Jimmy Kimmel is in a no-win situation. Apologize, and supporters will call you a sell-out, while you load the cannons of those who already want to see you fail with even more ammunition, allowing them to take a victory lap at your expense.
Don’t apologize, and you risk straining the relationship with Disney, ABC, advertisers, and affiliates to a point that is like irreparable.
Say nothing, and no one feels satisfied about the situation. This is America, and we like to build people up to tear them down. But if you take that away, everyone has a thirst for blood because your choices have left them unfulfilled.
Talk about a conundrum. However, by the account of many in Hollywood, Jimmy Kimmel is a kind and decent man. I’ll choose to believe the best in him, and expect an apology that might stop short of actually apologizing for the things detractors would like him to apologize for.
I’ve prepared what I expect that apology to look like, and we’ll see how close I am later this evening.
“Hi, everybody. Thank you for being here. Anything going on in the news we should talk about? [awkward laugh] But seriously, I want to start tonight by talking about the obvious. I was away for a few days — not on vacation, not hiding out in Cancun (cut to a picture of Jimmy sitting in a thatch roof cabana sipping on a tropical drink in a lounger next to Ted Cruz) — but because of something I said that got me into trouble. And first and foremost, I owe you an apology.
“When you do a show like this every night, you’re going to say things that miss the mark. What I said the other night missed the mark. Badly. It upset people, it hurt people, and it created a distraction that didn’t need to happen. For that, I’m sorry.
“I’ve always believed that part of this job is to make people laugh, sometimes to make people think, but never to make people feel unwelcome or disrespected. And in this case, I didn’t live up to that. I let people down, and I let myself down.
“Now, I’m not going to spend the next six months groveling. Instead, I’ve decided to join a monastery (cut to a picture of Jimmy in the full-on, catholic nun regalia). My mother will be thrilled. But I will tell you that I’ve listened, I’ve learned, and I’m going to try to do better.
“At the end of the day, this show is supposed to be fun. And if it’s not fun, then what are we doing here? So thank you for giving me the chance to make it right, and thank you for sticking with me. Now, let’s get back to laughing at people more famous and more ridiculous than I am.”
Are Nexstar and Sinclair Prepared to Play Chicken with Disney?
This is my favorite question about the entire situation.
Because, on one hand, both Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group need ABC.
And on the other hand, ABC needs Nexstar and Sinclair. Those two companies own the affiliates for more than 20% of the network’s over-the-air coverage in the United States. And ABC can’t — conceivably — pitch advertisers on the show if their messages aren’t going to be seen in markets like Columbus, Nashville, New Orleans, Portland, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, Seattle, and Washington D.C., among others, right?
Could this be a test case for a network to simply bypass affiliates and push — hard — that you can watch Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Disney+, Hulu, or on some other digital platform? Absolutely. Do Sinclair and Nexstar want to play that game? I would guess the answer would be absolutely not.
Currently, Sinclair says it still plans to preempt Kimmel’s show, stating that it would be “replacing it with news programming.” I have to assume that the news programming is more expensive for the stations to produce than simply airing the ABC late-night show. Theoretically, the company would want to limit its costs, especially in a timeslot where — by the admission of many on the conservative side of the aisle — the ratings are already in toilet. I have to doubt a re-run or extension of the 11 PM news is likely to pull any larger audiences. But I’ve been wrong before.
Also worth pointing out: we’re jumping to conclusions about what Nexstar will do, because as of this publication, it hasn’t made any definitive statements about its plans.
Could ABC force the two ownership groups’ hands? Would holding the network’s college football and NFL slates away from those stations as a ransom be enough to get — at least Sinclair — to blink in this proverbial staring match?
In the coming seven days alone, ABC is scheduled to broadcast the Cincinnati Bengals at Denver Broncos (Sinclair owns ABC stations in Dayton, and Columbus), as well as a college football slate including brands like Notre Dame, Arkansas (Sinclair owns the ABC affiliate in Little Rock), LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama (Sinclair owns the ABC stations in Birmingham, Chattanooga, and Mobile/Pensacola), and Georgia (Sinclair owns the ABC affiliate in Macon).
Meanwhile, Sinclair has to stand on business, as the kids say. They demanded that Jimmy Kimmel make a formal apology, as well as a “meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA.” They can’t just take “No, I don’t think I will” for an answer, can they?
Genuinely, I’m fascinated to see how this all plays out. I do think much of the next steps are dependent on what Kimmel says and does on Tuesday’s show.
Will FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr Soften or Stiffen?
I feel like we know the answer to this question.
Brendan Carr, in my opinion, doesn’t seem to have “You know what? My bad.” energy as much as he has “Do you know who my father is?” energy. So, the chances that he tries to mitigate the situation by taking the high road, admitting he might have went a step too far, and apologizing feels unlikely.
I would guess we’re likely to see more definitive statements about what is and isn’t permissible from Brendan Carr’s — and in turn, the FCC’s — viewpoint. During an interview at the 2025 Concordia Annual Summit, Carr deflected any responsibility for his involvement in the hullabaloo, saying, “I saw there was a letter from some Senate Democrats that said the FCC threatened to revoke the license of Disney and ABC if they didn’t fire Jimmy Kimmel. That did not happen in any way, shape, or form.”
I think saying that is one of those “Gosh, I hope nobody actually does any research on what I just said, because if they do, I’m screwed,” situations.
Because I’m not sure what “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead” meant in Brendan Carr’s head, but I have two eyes and an understanding of the English langauge, and it certainly sounds to me like he was making threats to revoke licenses. Now, I know he’ll say “Disney and ABC don’t even have licenses for me to revoke!”…but I know what he meant, you know what he meant, and he knows what he meant.
I think Brendan Carr feels — and rightfully so — emboldened by the development that he could call for the suspension of a high-profile TV figure and see it come to fruition in less than 12 hours time. I’d imagine that power is intoxicating. So, I’d expect more and more of this in the future, not less. I’d love to be wrong about that, too, for the record.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
Sinclair has its own The National Desk programming that it can slide into the Kimmel slot. They’ll be fine.
Maga Carr is a field marshal for the orange despot. And in the Maga world there is no compromise or admission of overstepping boundaries. This whole FCC versus the major television networks is likely to get worse before it gets better.
Jimmy does not need to issue an apology. He did nothing wrong. He’s a comedian commenting on current events, and from what we know thus far, the assassin was a an extreme right wing person. This is a vengeance directive being carried out by Brendan Carr/FCC under directives of the Trump administration, who is also using their influence on ABC, Sinclair, and Nexstar. It is unethical, a violation of the first amendment, and just flat out wrong. ABC needs to grow a pair. Sinclair and Nexstar need to quit acting as censors for their viewers – that’s not their job or responsibility. Our media outlets all need to stand up to the orange bully.