In an act of friendship with a fellow late-night show host, Jimmy Kimmel extended an on-air invitation to Stephen Colbert. He threw a late-night lifeline to Colbert and asked him to take over ABC‘s desk after CBS canceled The Late Show, which aired its final episode in May 2026.
Jimmy Kimmel throws Stephen Colbert a late-night lifeline after sudden CBS axing
Speaking to Variety, published on Tuesday, July 21, Kimmel confirmed that he personally asked Colbert to join the show’s rotating cast of summer guest hosts. However, the former late-night show host has politely declined the offer.
Kimmel agreed in the interview that the timing of his offer didn’t feel right to his former late-night rival. “Of course, I asked him, and I think it feels premature,” Kimmel said, adding that the offer remains open for whenever Colbert changes his mind.
The invitation comes during an especially strong stretch for Kimmel’s show. June marked the most-watched month in the 23-year-long run of Jimmy Kimmel Live! It averaged 3.15 million viewers. Jimmy thanked CBS for the exponential boost in the Late Night ratings, while simultaneously taking a dig at it for The Late Show cancellation.
He told Variety, “The ratings are very strong, which we are very grateful to CBS for their wisdom. “We were doing pretty well before that, but that really helped.”
While Kimmel takes his usual summer break, the show has continued rotating in guest hosts, including Tiffany Haddish, Anthony Anderson, Ike Barinholtz, Colman Domingo, Rosie O’Donnell, and Jelly Roll. However, Colbert’s name remains absent from that lineup for now.
Kimmel has also been consistently vocal in his support for Colbert since CBS’s cancellation announcement. He even went dark the night of Colbert’s series finale in May to encourage his own audience to watch “The Late Show” send-off instead.
ABC’s host is also returning to primetime this week, hosting a new celebrity edition of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” airing Wednesday, July 22, on ABC.
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