Late-night television just got a shake-up. While the news that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be going on hiatus is making headlines, the network has already allegedly decided who will replace the popular late-night show. On September 17, Disney’s ABC confirmed that the talk show is on “indefinite hiatus” following host Jimmy Kimmel’s controversial comments about the death of right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk.
During Monday’s (September 15) episode, Kimmel said, “The MAGA Gang (is) desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it. In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.” Kirk, 31, was a conservative political commentator and activist best known as the co-founder and president of Turning Point USA, a right-wing nonprofit organisation focused on mobilising young voters. He was fatally shot on 10 September while speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley University.
So who’s taking Kimmel’s place?
According to Variety, ABC was quick to reshuffle its late-night schedule. Affiliate stations were told that reruns of Steve Harvey’s popular reality show, Celebrity Family Feud, would air in the 11:35 p.m. slot on Wednesday and Thursday. In the show, famous families from the entertainment world go head-to-head in quirky games, all for a chance to take home the prize money.
Furthermore, Sinclair — the country’s largest ABC affiliate group — has announced it would replace the time slot of the show on Friday with a special in remembrance of Charlie Kirk. The same special will be offered to all ABC stations across the United States.
Sinclair also made its stance clear in a press release: “Sinclair will not lift the suspension of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on our stations until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability. Sinclair also calls upon Mr. Kimmel to issue a direct apology to the Kirk family. Furthermore, we ask Mr. Kimmel to make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA.”
About Celebrity Family Feud
Celebrity Family Feud is a spin-off of the classic game show Family Feud, hosted by comedian Steve Harvey. The format sees popular celebrity families and teams face off in fast-paced trivia rounds, where they guess the most popular answers to survey questions. Instead of playing for themselves, the stars compete for cash prizes that go directly to charities of their choice.
Industry fallout
Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012, had a large conservative following — and Kimmel’s remarks struck a nerve. Nexstar Media, the largest local broadcast and digital media company in the United States, also weighed in, stating it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets.”
As of now, ABC is airing reruns and memorial specials in place of Jimmy Kimmel Live! while the network figures out what’s next (probably So, for late-night fans tuning in this week — don’t be surprised if instead of Kimmel’s monologue, you’re greeted by Steve Harvey and a round of fast money.
