According to recent reports, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is considering retiring at the conclusion of his current contract with ABC next year. Subsequently, there has been considerable speculation as to who might replace Kimmel, who has been a staple of late-night television for over twenty years.
Kimmel has hosted his ABC show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” since 2003, and, according to his comments in recent interviews, the 56-year-old might consider stepping away. During an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Kimmel said he believes this is his “final contract,” and the remainder of his time under the agreement “seems like enough.”
“I think this is my final contract. I hate to even say it, because everyone’s laughing at me now — each time I think that, and then it turns out to be not the case. I still have a little more than two years left on my contract, and that seems pretty good. That seems like enough,” Kimmel told the outlet earlier this year.
“It’s hard to yearn for it when you’re doing it,” Kimmel continued. He further illustrated how exhausting his work has recently become, illustrating the effort that goes into his job. “Wednesday night, I was very tired and I had all these scripts to go through — I had to revise and rewrite all these pitch ideas for the Oscars — and I was literally nodding off onto my computer,” he added.
However, the veteran host noted that while the idea of retirement may seem enticing in those arduous moments, the grass isn’t always greener when spending time away from his profession. “In those moments, I think, ‘I cannot wait until my contract is over.’ But then, I take the summer off or I go on strike, and you start going, ‘Yeah, I miss the fun stuff,’” he added.
While rumors have swirled as to who will take over Kimmel’s highly coveted late-night position, one potential candidate already under Disney, who owns ABC, has stood out from the crowd. Critically acclaimed ESPN host Stephen A. Smith recently indicated in an interview with Sean Hannity that he would be interested in stepping up to the plate.
“I am interested in doing late night,” Smith said. “I would love to be the heir apparent to Jimmy Kimmel. I believe I could do it.” He continued, “I would throw everybody for a loop, my politics would throw people off because I’d be fair to everybody and I’d listen to everybody. It wouldn’t be one-sided, I’m not a one-sided kind of guy. I’m one-sided on issues, I’m not one-sided on ideology.”
The American Tribune has reported extensively on the ongoing conflict between former President Donald Trump and Jimmy Kimmel, who have continually traded shots at each other. Trump previously wrote about Kimmel hosting the Oscar’s, “Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars. His opening was that of a less than average person trying too hard to be something which he is not, and never can be. Get rid of Kimmel and perhaps replace him with another washed up, but cheap, ABC “talent,” George Slopanopoulos. He would make everybody on stage look bigger, stronger, and more glamorous.”
Watch Kimmel address Trump live at the Ocars:
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