Jimmy Kimmel’s eponymous late-night talk show returned on Tuesday night to record-high ratings after an almost week-long suspension.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned with a bang on Tuesday night.
After a near week-long suspension, Jimmy Kimmel’s eponymous late-night talk show scored 6.26 Million total viewers in its first episode back on the air. This feat was achieved despite its unavailability across 23% of US TV households as Nexstar and Sinclair preempted the show across its ABC-affiliated markets.
In the key 18-49 demographic, the show earned a 0.87 rating, marking the show’s highest regularly scheduled episode since March 2015.
While these initial numbers don’t include streaming ratings, the monologue has since garnered more than 26 million views across YouTube and social platforms.
Prior to his suspension, Kimmel’s show was struggling as ratings had dropped to 1.1 million total viewers in August 2025, down 43% from January’s 1.95 million.
The late-night show was pulled “indefinitely” by Disney’s ABC last Wednesday after Kimmel made comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death.
Kimmel opened his show on Tuesday night with a tearful address for his fans — but the comedian made no apologies for his previous comments.
“I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind, but I do want to make something clear, because it’s important to me as a human and that is, you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” the 57-year-old said as his voice broke.
