Story perspectives

ABC Confirms Jimmy Kimmel Live! Will Run Through 2027

9/9/2026

Summary

Story summary

ABC confirms Jimmy Kimmel Live! will continue airing and is not canceled.
ABC halted production in September 2025 after Kimmel’s monologue on Charlie Kirk’s killing drew FCC criticism.
The show resumed on September 23, 2025 following talks with Kimmel and Disney.
Kimmel signed a contract extension on December 8, 2025 to keep the program through 2027.
In May 2026 Kimmel said FCC actions threatened constitutional free-speech rights during a Peabody speech.

History

Historical Context

In 1973 Pacifica’s WBAI aired George Carlin’s “Seven Words” routine, prompting an FCC complaint and a 1978 Supreme Court 5-4 ruling that upheld the agency’s power to restrict indecent broadcast material. The precedent guided the FCC’s criticism of Jimmy Kimmel’s September 2025 monologue naming activist Charlie Kirk, leading ABC/Disney to suspend the show.

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Story summary

ABC confirms Jimmy Kimmel Live! will continue airing and is not canceled.
ABC halted production in September 2025 after Kimmel’s monologue on Charlie Kirk’s killing drew FCC criticism.
The show resumed on September 23, 2025 following talks with Kimmel and Disney.
Kimmel signed a contract extension on December 8, 2025 to keep the program through 2027.
In May 2026 Kimmel said FCC actions threatened constitutional free-speech rights during a Peabody speech.

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