Jimmy Kimmel will soon be back on late-night television.
The "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" host will be resuming his duties after returning from a voluntary summer break on Sept. 8.
Kimmel had signed off from "Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on June 18,
telling audiences he will be "taking the next two months off – this time voluntarily.” The joke in the opening monologue was referencing his weeklong suspension last fall, following controversial remarks about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.Here's what to know about Kimmel's return to late-night TV.
Who will be Kimmel's guests upon his return?
ABC, in a Sept. 4 email to USA TODAY, confirmed the following guests for Kimmel's first week back:
- Tuesday, Sept. 8: Andrew Garfield, Joey King
- Wednesday, Sept. 9: Mariska Hargitay, Kaia Gerber
- Thursday, Sept. 10: Gal Gadot
Monday will feature a rerun, while Friday's guests are yet to be confirmed.
Why did Jimmy Kimmel take a break?
Summer breaks are not unusual
for Kimmel, who has been taking every summer off since 2020 after including it in his contract, Deadline reported. While guest hosts have stepped in for Kimmel during this time, no shows took place in the summer of 2023 due to labor and writer strikes in Hollywood.
Kimmel also signed off last year with jokes: “Tonight is my last show until Labor Day. I’m going to be off for the summer. I don’t want to go either; they put it in my contract, I have to go to fat camp every summer ... I’m going to be gone for the next couple of months, but rest assured if Donald Trump does anything monumentally crazy or anything that requires an emergency response, I will be in a canoe, ignoring it."
What did Jimmy Kimmel do during his break?
Besides grabbing pizza in Chicago, grilling a steak on the Fourth of July and spoofing Mitch McConnell, Kimmel did return to the screen during his break to host "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," with Ben Affleck, Jamie Ding, Jesse Eisenberg, Larry David and Paul Giamatti among others as guest players.
More than 4 million viewers tuned in for the game show's summer run, up 9% from last year’s average, making it Wednesday’s No. 1 primetime program, according to ABC.
Who hosted 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' in his absence?
Before going on break, Kimmel told audiences a "potent group of hosts" will be filling in for him. Guest hosts this year included Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson, Rosie O'Donnell and Jelly Roll.
During the week leading up to Kimmel's return, ABC aired reruns of the show.
How to watch 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET/ PT on ABC and streams on Hulu the next day.
'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' is up for the Emmys
Kimmel will also be heading to the Emmys on Sept. 14, where his show is nominated in the category of outstanding variety series alongside "The Daily Show," "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," and "Saturday Night Live." The show is also nominated for production design, writing, lighting, directing and technical direction and camerawork.
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" has aired on ABC since 2003, but has never won the Emmy for best variety or talk series. The Emmy for best talk series most recently went to "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," which is nominated for its final time this year after CBS controversially canceled it in 2025.
Colbert has endorsed Kimmel for the Emmy, encouraging Television Academy voters to consider "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in the Best Variety Series category at the 2026 Emmy Awards.
"I think we can all agree that Jimmy Kimmel deserves an Emmy," the former "Late Show" host said in an Aug. 25 Instagram video. "I don't care if you've never even seen his show: You know he deserves an Emmy."
"Besides, look how cute he is!" he quipped. "Anyway, please consider thinking that Jimmy deserves an Emmy. I do."
Contributing: Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@usatodayco.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jimmy Kimmel returns to late-night TV. Here are his first guests
