Asked if he feared looking back after ending Jimmy Kimmel Live<\/a>! and wondering why he stopped, he told Dax Shepard on the Armchair Expert podcast: \u201cI do. I\u2019ve that. I know people who\u2019ve been in that situation. It\u2019s funny. People make a big show of like, \u2018I am done and I am tired doing this\u2019, and then they make a lesser comeback trying to do the same thing. And that\u2019s always a bummer. And I always look at that and go, \u2018Oh, is that going to be me?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Kimmel, <\/a>58, has hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/a> since 2003, making him the longest-tenured host of the current crop of American late-night TV shows.<\/p>\n His contract runs through May 2027.<\/p>\n Kimmel <\/a>agreed a one-year extension with Disney, which owns ABC, in December 2025, about three months after the network suspended his show over his comments about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk<\/a>. The suspension was reversed six days later, with Disney saying that it had held \u201cthoughtful conversations\u201d with Kimmel.<\/a><\/p>\n Kimmel imagined how his younger self would react to the idea of giving up a job he was once thrilled to be in.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you ever think to yourself, \u2018How would I explain this to me at 25 years old, just giving up, just letting it go?\u2019 I know that 25-year-old me will be like, \u2018Are you crazy?\u2019 I would have just been so excited to work at a place that had a snack table that was free.\u201d<\/p>\n Molly McNearney, Kimmel\u2019s wife of 13 years and his show\u2019s co-head writer and executive producer, said she was conflicted about what Kimmel should do.<\/p>\n \u201cIt definitely appeals to me for the nervous system of the household. I also feel like Jimmy has like a fly rod in one hand and like a torch in the other right now. It is like he deserves to go out there and just be on the river and relax, but I also want him to keep fighting,\u201d she told Shepard. <\/p>\n McNearney said that she felt a \u201csense of desire to not quit\u201d because she believed Kimmel\u2019s work was \u201cincredibly important right now\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd yes, I know we\u2019re doing it in a vacuum but I think it\u2019s giving people a feeling of their voices being heard, and I think it\u2019s important,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n \u201cBut as his wife, I really would like him to be able to not do this show anymore so he could relax.\u201d <\/p>\n She would be happy, McNearney said, for the show to end \u201cin a great way\u201d.<\/p>\n However, Kimmel was certain that ending his show would not mean stopping work altogether. \u201cIt depends on what you mean by retirement,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m never going to stop doing things. So, it\u2019s just a different scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n In June, Kimmel told Vulture that things were \u201ctumultuous\u201d after his contract extension. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to me to be responsible,\u201d he said on leaving, adding that he \u201ccould go out in a blaze of glory and get a lot of applause for it, but it would be a very selfish thing to do\u201d.<\/p>\n The uncertainty around late-night television has been heightened by the cancellation of Stephen Colbert\u2019s The Late Show<\/a>, which ended its run on 21 May after 11 years. <\/p>\n![\"Molly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2278503187...jpeg\")
Molly McNearney, Kimmel\u2019s wife of 13 years and his show\u2019s co-head writer and executive producer, says she\u2019s conflicted about what Kimmel should do (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1176443837-(1).jpg\")
The uncertainty around late-night television has been heightened by the cancellation of Stephen Colbert\u2019s The Late Show , which ended its run on 21 May after 11 years (Getty)<\/p>\n