Jimmy Kimmel is no longer talking about the future of late-night television like a distant industry problem.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host said Stephen Colbert’s final Late Show broadcast made him feel as if he were seeing a version of his own ending. In a new Vulture profile, Kimmel pushed back on the idea that late-night is simply fading because viewers have moved on.
“We’re not just dying of natural causes. We’re being poisoned,” Kimmel said.
Last Night On also framed the remarks around Kimmel’s uncertainty at ABC, arguing that Colbert’s exit has made the future of network late night look less stable for everyone still behind a desk.
Kimmel Said Colbert’s Exit Felt Personal
Kimmel did not treat Colbert’s final episode as just another late-night transition.
“In a lot of ways, I feel like I’m looking at my own future,” he told Vulture.
That line gives the interview its sharpest point. Kimmel is not arguing that late-night has no problems. He is arguing that the format still has viewers when online clips are counted alongside traditional TV ratings, while corporate caution, political pressure, and shifting economics are making the business feel more fragile.
Colbert’s cancellation has already become a flashpoint because of its timing. CBS said the decision to end The Late Show was financial, but the move came while Paramount’s Skydance merger was under scrutiny and after years of Colbert criticizing Donald Trump on air.
Kimmel questioned the financial explanation, pointing to reporting that CBS had encouraged Colbert to consider a longer contract in 2023 before later ending the show. His argument was not that late-night economics are healthy across the board, but that the explanation for Colbert’s exit does not fully add up to him.
His Own ABC Deal Runs Only Through 2027
Kimmel’s uncertainty is not only about Colbert.
The ABC host signed a one-year contract extension with Disney in December 2025, keeping Jimmy Kimmel Live! on the network through May 2027. ABC News confirmed the extension at the time.
That shorter deal was a change from the longer renewals Kimmel had usually signed. He told Vulture that the television business felt too unstable for the usual rhythm, and that a one-year extension made sense under the circumstances.
Kimmel also said ABC has told him his show remains profitable. Even so, he told Vulture that contract conversations had not started yet, despite the fact that talks would typically be underway by this point.
That is why the Colbert ending hit so hard. Kimmel still has a year left, but the calendar now matters. His next contract decision is no longer an abstract industry question; it is already close enough to shape how he talks about the show.
He Has Been Thinking About Leaving for Years
Kimmel’s hesitation is not brand-new.
He told Vulture that he once thought he would be done with Jimmy Kimmel Live! during Joe Biden’s presidency. The show continued, but Kimmel has been increasingly open about the possibility that he may not want to stay behind the desk forever.
His longtime producer Erin Irwin told Vulture that Kimmel has been talking about leaving for a while and that she hopes he stays through the 2028 presidential election. She also acknowledged that he is tired.
Kimmel’s situation is complicated by the people around him. He has spent years building a staff that includes close friends and family members, including his wife, executive producer and head writer Molly McNearney. Walking away would not only end a show he has hosted since 2003. It would affect the people who built it with him.
Late Night Is Running Out of Familiar Anchors
Colbert’s exit changed the late-night map.
Vulture noted that Kimmel is now the longest-running, highest-profile host still doing a nightly studio-audience show while regularly taking swings at powerful political figures. Seth Meyers remains at NBC, Jimmy Fallon continues on The Tonight Show, John Oliver is on HBO, and The Daily Show operates in a different Comedy Central lane.
But the old network late-night structure no longer looks as permanent as it once did. Colbert is gone. NBC has scaled back parts of Late Night with Seth Meyers. Fallon’s show has faced ratings pressure. Kimmel is still standing, but his latest interview makes clear that he does not see that position as guaranteed.
For now, Jimmy Kimmel Live! still has another year on ABC. Kimmel has not announced a retirement plan, and ABC has not announced an end date beyond his current contract.
The pressure point is the contract clock. Kimmel’s summer break begins after the NBA Finals, and Vulture reported that talks that would usually be underway by late May had not started. After watching Colbert leave CBS, Kimmel is heading into his own final guaranteed ABC year with the future of his desk still unresolved.