Host Jimmy Kimmel is reportedly now in talks with Disney-owned ABC to put his show Jimmy Kimmel Live! back on the air after it was pulled earlier this week.

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Jimmy Kimmel Live! was “preempted indefinitely” starting on September 17, 2025, following some remarks made by the host regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Kimmel had remarked during his show, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

The comments went viral, causing Nexstar, which is one of the biggest owners of local TV stations in the U.S., to announce it would be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live on all its stations for the immediate future. ABC was also reportedly contacted by additional stations for similar reasons.

Nexstar’s President of the Broadcasting Division commented:

Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located. Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.

Andrew Alford

One of those aforementioned additional stations was the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the nation’s largest ABC affiliate conglomerate. According to The New York Post, Sinclair “went as far as to demand that Kimmel issue a direct apology to Kirk’s family and make a meaningful personal donation to Kirk’s Turning Point USA.”

Following the decision to pull the show, hundreds of Union actors and writers marched outside of Disney’s Alameda Avenue gate. As per Deadline, the number of individuals joining the protest was over 300 on September 18.

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner also commented on the decision, posting on X:

Where has all the leadership gone? If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up for the first amendment? The “suspending indefinitely” of Jimmy Kimmel immediately after the Chairman of the FCC’s aggressive yet hollow threatening of the Disney Company is yet another example of out-of-control intimidation. Maybe the Constitution should have said, “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one’s political or financial self-interest.” By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny.

Kimmel and Disney Now in Talks

Now, as per a new article from The New York Post, Kimmel is now in talks with Disney and ABC executives about the possible return of his show, “The comedian’s businesses and legal representatives are in deep discussions with Disney and ABC, trying to hammer out a compromise that would allow Jimmy Kimmel Live to resume its 23rd season.”

However, they note that there is no information about the status of these talks, or whether the parties are anywhere close to a resolution.

The Hollywood Reporter mentioned that Kimmel originally had no plans to apologize for his comments the night his show was pulled, “When asked by THR, the source said that Kimmel was not planning on apologizing. He felt that what he said did not require an apology.” The New York Post added that, “Kimmel reportedly refused to comply with calls from critics and the owners of dozens of ABC affiliate stations for him to apologize.”