Writers

After ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week following the host’s remarks about the murder of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, even those who have been part of Kimmel’s inner circle were unsure that the show would ever return.

“I’m truly shocked,” Ned Rice, a former writer for the late night program, tells The Hollywood Reporter about its planned return to the air Tuesday. “I would have bet a lot of money that this was over. After saying you’re suspended, I didn’t think everybody could make nice and [decide,] ‘Let’s try again.’”

Kimmel, a frequent target of President Donald Trump‘s ire for his quips lambasting the administration, commented during his Sept. 15 episode that MAGA Republicans were focused on distancing themselves from Kirk’s alleged murderer, Tyler Robinson. After FCC chairman Brendan Carr fanned the flames of dissension during an appearance on Benny Johnson’s podcast — leading TV affiliate conglomerates Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group to threaten to pull the show in their markets — ABC announced Wednesday that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be suspended indefinitely.

The show’s Tuesday return was presaged by a firestorm of pushback, ranging from protests at the Disney studio lot to viral social media posts from Hollywood figures encouraging others to cancel their subscriptions to such Disney-backed streaming services as Disney+ and Hulu. Even former Disney CEO Michael Eisner voiced concern over the suspension.

Among those protesting at Disney was Joe Strazzullo, a Kimmel writer for six years before his exit in 2021. “As a WGA member, I know the importance of solidarity,” Strazzullo tells THR about why he was compelled to make his voice heard. “We’re used to fighting back against bullies. Bullies are the reason many of us became comedy writers. I’m thrilled my friends at Jimmy Kimmel Live! are headed back to work.”

Although Kimmel’s supporters have heralded the return as a victory for freedom of expression, the fact remains that broadcast late night programs are perceived as increasingly less financially viable amid dwindling ratings. Over the summer, CBS’ Late Show With Stephen Colbert was the first of the current core group of late night shows to get canceled, which spurred speculation about the axing being politically motivated ahead of the recently completed merger between Paramount and Skydance Media.

Rice has plenty of experience with the late night landscape, having written for numerous titles, including Bill Maher’s Real Time and Politically Incorrect, Jay Leno’s Tonight Show and Craig Ferguson’s Late Late Show. “People just don’t watch those shows anymore,” admits Rice, who last wrote for Kimmel in 2009. “So I thought this was a convenient way of ABC unloading Jimmy. It killed two birds, you might say. [Tuesday’s] show is going to be pretty hot. That will be a real television moment, for sure.”

Of course, not everyone who might want to watch Kimmel’s return will get a chance to see it, as Nexstar and Sinclair will not air the show, making it dark on roughly a quarter of ABC stations. Assesses one former Kimmel writer, who asked to remain anonymous: “The Tonight Show premiered 71 years ago. [Since then,] late night has told jokes about 13 presidents, and only one has tried to take down all of late night.” The scribe adds about Sinclair’s politically conservative leanings, “People can just google Sinclair and see what they’re about.”

As for Kimmel’s future, his ABC contract expires in May, and he has previously hinted at looming retirement. For now, Rice expects the host to deliver the same barbs that he always has — “It would be crazy to try to change now” — but still worries about a cultural landscape losing its ability to poke at those with power.

“Americans love topical humor,” he says about late night TV. “We love to hear jokes about the president, about celebrities and so on. Something will have to replace it.”