Before he stood up to leave, he showed his distress, declaring, “There must be a better way of making a living than this.”
His shocked audience, realizing that Paar was serious about quitting, broke out in sustained applause for his gutsy stand against the NBC censors. His absence from “The Tonight Show” was short-lived. After receiving an NBC apology, Paar returned in March to host some of his most remarkable shows, including a candid conversation with John F. Kennedy while he campaigned for president. Politics back then was part of normal, civilized discourse. Paar was never silenced again.
Last week, ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, host of the late-night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” unfolded differently. After being threatened with punishment by Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr, Disney, the parent of ABC, caved. Kimmel had incurred the wrath of President Trump’s world in his opening monologue, when, commenting on the killing of Charlie Kirk, he said the following: “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.” Kimmel’s comments were deemed beyond the pale.
Carr, a stalwart supporter of Trump, has power over broadcast licenses, so rather than risk displeasing the FCC chairman, two large owners of ABC affiliates, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair, quickly pulled the plug on Kimmel’s show. Soon came a terse announcement from ABC, which had previously paid Trump $16 million to settle a defamation suit, that Kimmel’s show had been suspended indefinitely.
Yet as with Paar, it didn’t take long for the tide to turn: Facing a widespread backlash, Disney announced on Monday that Kimmel’s show would return to ABC Tuesday night.
“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive,” Disney said in a statement. “We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
Kimmel’s fellow late-night hosts had supported him, with some mocking or denouncing the Trump administration. “Tonight, we are all Jimmy Kimmel,” declared Stephen Colbert, whose own criticisms of the president may have sparked the cancellation of his late-night show on CBS. The axe will fall next May.
Even as Kimmel returns to late night, they should all consider making an exit.
Late-night television is facing a reckoning, with audiences and advertising dwindling at an alarming rate. While some older viewers tune in every night, younger ones stream the shows or catch the best jokes on YouTube and TikTok. Do the networks’ late-night hosts — now down to Colbert; NBC’s Jimmy Fallon, whose contract runs through 2028; and Seth Meyers, the host of NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” — still need the sponsorship of those declining networks to stay afloat?
The waning of network power may mean that the best way for stars to survive and thrive is by becoming individual brands. Megyn Kelly, formerly of Fox News, has become a successful podcaster on SiriusXM and is about to take “Megyn Kelly Live” on a national tour. When ESPN did not renew Bill Simmons’s contract in 2015, the sports and pop culture podcaster also did very well by going solo. His company, The Ringer, was bought by Spotify in 2020 for $250 million.
Simmons is a pal of Kimmel’s and had a lot to say about the TV host’s suspension on a recent podcast. “I hope Jimmy’s show sticks around and I hope ABC sticks by him,” Simmons said, adding, “He’ll find another platform somewhere and he’ll figure out how to get all his content out in the right ways and I would not bet against that dude.” Kimmel has hosted four Academy Award ceremonies, including 2024’s Oscars, plus three Emmy Award nights.
If Kimmel ultimately decides to leave his show, he might benefit from the kind of reinvention that Conan O’Brien has pulled off after leaving as host of “The Tonight Show” in 2010. He returned to writing comedy and doing stand-up and hosts the popular podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” and “Conan O’Brien Must Go,” an HBO Max travel show. He’s cultivated a new generation of listeners and viewers who appreciate his quirky style.
Trump had gloated over Kimmel’s suspension on Truth Social and made it clear he was looking for more heads to roll. He posted, “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. … That leaves Jimmy [Fallon] and Seth [Meyers], two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!”
Perhaps Trump spoke too soon. Either way, it’s time for the talent — Kimmel and his late-night brethren — to get sweet revenge by going solo.