Jimmy Kimmel Taunts CBS Over His Ratings, Invites Colbert to Guest Host Show
What To Know
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! had its best-rated month ever in June.
- The host credits CBS for the explosion in viewership, after it canceled top competitor The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
Jimmy Kimmel is giving credit where it’s due … or, at least, where he cheekily suggests it’s due.
Ratings numbers for his pre-summer break shows on Jimmy Kimmel Live! are in, per Variety, and it looks like the show averaged 3.15 million viewers throughout the month of June, which is the late-night show’s best month ever in 23 years.
To celebrate, Kimmel, who is currently on vacation and being filled in for by a coterie of guest hosts, spoke to the trade and took a shot at CBS for cancelling the previous top-rated competitor, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
“The ratings are very strong, which we are very grateful to CBS for their wisdom,” Kimmel said in his statement to Variety. “We were doing pretty well before that, but that really helped.”
Kimmel also said he wants Stephen Colbert to step in as one of his guest hosts during his annual break from the show, but Colbert has thus far declined.
“Of course I asked him, and I think it feels premature,” he said. “But I told him,’ Anytime you want to host, it doesn’t matter if it’s the summer, I’ll gladly step aside.'”
Kimmel has been a fiercely vocal opponent of CBS’s decision to cancel The Late Show.
In May, just before The Late Show‘s final episode, Kimmel announced that his show would go dark in support of Colbert’s grand finale and urged audiences to boycott the network afterward.
“We will be off tomorrow night out of respect for our colleague and friend Stephen Colbert and the writers, producers, staff, and crew at The Late Show, whose finale show on CBS airs opposite ours. I think you know how I feel about the fact that they are being pushed out. I hope the people who did the pushing feel ashamed of themselves tonight, although they probably won’t,” he said in his May 20 monologue. “I hope those of you who watch our show will also tune into CBS for the last time. Don’t ever watch it again, but watch tomorrow night to show Stephen and our friends at The Late Show a fun farewell. Now, let’s talk about the a**hole who forced them off the air.”
The latter reference, of course, was to Donald Trump, whose administration many blame for the cancellation of The Late Show, as, despite CBS’s official stance that the cancellation was due to financial reasons, it is widely believed the move was politically driven, since news of the cancellation decision came shortly after Paramount (CBS’s parent company) reached a $16 million settlement with them and before approval of their merger with Skydance was given by the administration.
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weekdays, 11:35/10:35c, ABC
Conversation7 Comments
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Trump administration would never approved the merger if they didn’t fire him. It was an alternate way to trample on free speech.
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I think you are correct.
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when did it become not OK to criticize a sitting president with comedy? oh yeh, since DJT was elected.
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How old are you? Criticizing Presidents did not start with DJT. Even President John F Kennedy was criticized. A comedy album (vinyl record) was made called the "First Family" about the Kennedy family. After the assassination it was never sold again. Every President has had jokes made about them and criticized. DJT is thin-skinned and cannot take a joke. He has no sense of humor.
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Everything is Trump's fault. I'll say it again....Jimmy said nothing wrong. Just exercising his free speech rights like every other red blooded American comic. Can't take a joke than don't get into politics or better yet change the channel and watch "Comics Unleashed" staring at the t.v. in silence.
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I'll also give a big thanks to CBS for the ratings surge. I know there are people watching "Comics Unleashed" nightly laughing about the comic's conversations about their dogs or how the restaurant messed up the to- go order. Ugh. No politics and can't mention " that guy"! It's the best comedy one could receive from a late night show.I was hoping to see Colbert guest host but I get it. Just too soon. Thanks Jimmy and Disney too. Giving America laughs when we all need a laugh.
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"It was your choices in what you thought it was ok to say." Ma'am, that's not how comedy works, and it's not how grown-ups behave.
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