“In a lot of ways, I feel like I’m looking at my own future,” the comedian said.

Jimmy Kimmel says late-night TV is being ‘poisoned’ after Stephen Colbert sign-off

"In a lot of ways, I feel like I'm looking at my own future," the comedian said.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Popsugar.

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June 1, 2026 11:43 a.m. ET

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Jimmy Kimmel at Bloomberg Screentime event in 2025. Credit:

Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty

- Jimmy Kimmel opened up about the so-called death of late-night TV after Stephen Colbert's final *Late Show* broadcast.

- Although the comedian insisted that more people are watching late-night TV "than there ever were," he also admitted that he feels "a little bit defeated" by the state of the late-night format.

- "We're not just dying of natural causes. We're being poisoned," he said.

Jimmy Kimmel is opening up about how Stephen Colbert's final *Late Show* broadcast has made him think twice about the so-called death of late-night television.

"I feel a little bit defeated by it," the comedian told *Vulture* in a lengthy conversation on the state of late-night following Colbert's final episode on May 21. "In a lot of ways, I feel like I'm looking at my own future."

The *Jimmy Kimmel Live! *host insisted to the outlet that more people are watching late-night TV "than there ever were, if you look at the number of views me and my colleagues get online every day and add in our linear-television ratings," and called it "silly" to call the format less relevant.

The cause of death isn't viewership, Kimmel declared. "We're not just dying of natural causes. We're being poisoned," he said.

Donald Trump at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2025; Stephen Colbert at the Emmy Awards in 2025.

Taylor Hill/FilmMagic; Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty

CBS announced in July 2025 that it was canceling the *Late Show* after it spent 33 years on the air. Colbert, who had served as host for 11 years, regularly criticized Donald Trump and his administration.

Though the network has maintained that the cancellation was a "financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," a slew of celebrities spoke out against the move, which came amid Paramount's merger with David Ellison's SkyDance media group. Many speculated that the end of Colbert's show was the result of political tensions — an effort to minimize complications with the Federal Communications Commission amid the merger deal.

Trump previously denied any involvement in *The Late Show*'s demise.

Jimmy Kimmel urges viewers to boycott CBS after Stephen Colbert's last show

Donald Trump skewers 'total jerk' Stephen Colbert after 'The Late Show' finale

Kimmel brought up *The New York Times* report that CBS encouraged Colbert to sign a five-year contract in 2023, asking *Vulture *why the network would offer the former host a five-year deal if the show was losing significant amounts of money — reportedly $40 million a year.

"Am I to believe that over the course of those two years, they suddenly started losing $40 million a year?" Kimmel said to the outlet. "These are just made-up numbers."

Although Kimmel shared that ABC has told him "quite specifically" that his show is still profitable, his contract was extended in December by just one year instead of the standard three.

"Everything is so tumultuous," Kimmel said. "That seemed to make sense. It's definitely not how it's gone in the past."

Jimmy Kimmel hosting 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' in 2022.

Todd Owyoung/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

Kimmel has been candid about his disappointment with the cancellation of *The Late Show *since CBS announced the news last summer.

During the May 20 episode of *Live!*, Kimmel urged his audience to turn CBS off for good after Colbert's final episode.

"I think you know how I feel about the fact that they're being pushed out," Kimmel said in his monologue. "I hope the people who did the pushing feel ashamed of themselves tonight, although I know they probably won't."

"But, that being said, I think it's most important to congratulate Stephen and the team at the *Late Show* for all the great work. It has been a pleasure to work alongside you. I will be watching tomorrow night," he continued. "Don't ever watch it again, but watch tomorrow night to wish Stephen and our friends at the *Late Show *a fond farewell."

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Meanwhile, Colbert celebrated his last episode of *The Late Show* with an uplifting send-off that made no mention of Trump at all. Instead, the finale saw Colbert visited by his fellow late-night hosts John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, and Kimmel, a.k.a. "Strike Force Five." There were also cameos by Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, and Ryan Reynolds.

And, finally, the former Beatle himself Paul McCartney sat down for an interview with the host and performed "Hello, Goodbye" with the house band, Colbert, and Elvis Costello, as audience and crew members danced on stage.

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