LOS ANGELES — Page Six reported Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, that next season of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! is expected to be the last, with a source saying host Jimmy Kimmel’s contract “is not getting extended” and that the season starting Tuesday would wrap in May 2027 after 24 years on air. ABC immediately denied the report.

An ABC Entertainment spokesperson told Page Six and TVLine: “This information is inaccurate — any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative.” USA Today likewise reported the network’s pushback.

Kimmel signed a one-year extension last December that runs through May 2027, according to prior reporting. Season 24 returns Tuesday with guests including Andrew Garfield, Mariska Hargitay, and Gal Gadot, TVLine noted. Page Six said Kimmel prefers year-to-year deals and that unnamed sources tied any end-of-show talk more to Disney cost-cutting under new boss Josh D’Amaro than to politics — while still recounting last year’s temporary preemption after remarks about Charlie Kirk and later friction with the Trump White House.

Late night is already shrinking: CBS ended The Late Show with Stephen Colbert earlier this year. Anonymous “contract won’t be extended” exclusives are the softest evidence in entertainment journalism; ABC’s on-record denial is the hard fact until someone produces a termination date or a new deal.

Sources