ABC Just Publicly Denied a Bombshell Report Claiming ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Is Getting Canceled in 2027, Calling the Entire Story Inaccurate

The denial, issued September 8, came hours after Page Six reported the late-night show would end after its next season and that Kimmel’s deal was not being renewed.

Key Points

• A network spokesperson told TVLine the claim was “inaccurate — any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative.”

• Page Six’s original report said Kimmel’s contract, which runs through May 2027, was not going to be extended, according to TMZ’s coverage.

• TMZ also reported unconfirmed staff chatter that Kimmel has been “pitching other shows and podcasts around town,” though he hasn’t said so publicly.

• “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” premiered in January 2003 and is entering its 24th season, making it one of the longest-running programs in late-night history.

The report landed in the middle of an already turbulent year for the show. ABC pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air indefinitely in September 2025 after Kimmel made comments about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s death, then reinstated him six days later following public backlash. His return episode pulled in 6.26 million viewers, according to TMZ, the show’s largest regularly scheduled audience in more than ten year

That kind of number is notable for a genre that’s been shrinking for years. Late-night shows built their identity in the broadcast-only era, when a single host could pull double-digit millions of viewers a night just by being one of three channels on. Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” ran for three decades under that model before handing off to a landscape that fragmented into dozens of competing hosts, streaming clips, and shrinking overnight ratings. Kimmel’s show has spent two decades adapting that same format for cable news cycles and viral clips, and now, apparently, contract speculation the network feels compelled to shoot down in writing.

Kimmel has floated retirement before, mentioning in past interviews that he doesn’t plan to host forever. ABC’s statement doesn’t rule that out down the line — it specifically calls reports about the show’s “future at this point” speculative, not false. That’s a narrower denial than it might first sound, and it leaves plenty of room for an actual announcement whenever Kimmel’s current deal is genuinely up for renewal.

For now, though, the network’s message is clear. Whatever conversations are happening behind the scenes about 2027, nobody at ABC has confirmed an ending date, and a show entering its 24th season isn’t going quietly based on an unnamed source alone.