What To Know
- Jimmy Kimmel has seriously considered retiring from his late-night show after a year of controversies.
- Kimmel and his wife, executive producer Molly McNearney, have discussed the pros and cons of stepping away.
- The late-night host signed a one-year extension with Disney in December.
Jimmy Kimmel signed a one-year extension with Disney in December to continue his late-night show, but he has given retirement serious thought in recent months.
The late-night host and his wife, Molly McNearney, who serves as an executive producer on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, appeared on the latest episode of Dax Shepard‘s Armchair Expert podcast, where they were asked about potentially stepping away from the show.
Kimmel admitted that he and his wife have had those discussions but said he doesn’t want to be one of those people who say they’re going away only to come back a year or so later basically doing the same thing.
“I know people who’ve been in that situation. It’s funny. People make a big show of like ‘I’m done and I’m tired doing this’, and then they make a lesser comeback trying to do the same thing,” he explained, per Deadline. “That’s always a bummer. I always look at that and go, ‘Oh, is that going to be me?’”
He also said that his younger self would call him “crazy” for walking away from a hit primetime talk show. “Do you ever think to yourself, ‘How would I explain this to me at 25 years old, just giving up, just letting it go?’ I know that 25-year-old me will be like, ‘Are you crazy?’” he stated. “I would have just been so excited to work at a place that had a snack table that was free.”
Kimmel added that “It depends on what you mean by retirement,” noting, “I’m never going to stop doing things. It’s just a different scenario.”
McNearney admitted to having mixed feelings about retirement. “I would be happy to be done with the show and end it in a great way and do my own next thing,” she said. “But I do care deeply about that show and the people who work there, and I think the voice is really important right now.”
She continued, “It definitely appeals to me, for the nervous system of the household, but I also feel Jimmy has like a fly rod in one hand and like a torch in the other right now. It’s like he deserves to go out there and just be on the river and relax, but I also want him to keep fighting, and I feel this sense of desire to not quit because I think what he’s doing is incredibly important right now.”
Kimmel experienced a wild 2025, including a temporary suspension following backlash to a joke he made about the Charlie Kirk assassination. The comedian faced the wrath of the FCC and President Donald Trump, the latter of whom called for ABC to fire Kimmel.
McNearney reiterated that she thinks Kimmel is an important voice that people need right now but also confessed, “As his wife, I really would like him to be able to not do the show anymore so he could relax.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, ABC