Jimmy Kimmel Live! received a massive boost in ratings when the show returned from its temporary suspension last Tuesday (September 23), but how has the late-night show been faring in the days since?
Kimmel’s Tuesday night return was watched by 6.3 million viewers, making it the second most-watched broadcast in the show’s history and more than tripling its regular viewership. The return came after Disney and ABC suspended Kimmel for comments he made on-air about the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The suspension followed the refusal of powerful station group Nexstar to air the show on its 32 broadcast affiliates. Fellow station group Sinclair soon followed suit. Nexstar and Sinclair continued to pre-empt Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week after its return until Friday (September 26), when both groups lifted the ban.
Kimmel’s ratings were down for the Thursday (September 25) broadcast, according to Fox News, which reports that an average of 2.23 million total viewers tuned into the show. This was down 64 per cent from Tuesday’s big return show.
However, despite the drop, the show’s ratings are still significantly higher compared to what they were averaging in the second quarter of 2025. According to The Independent, Jimmy Kimmel Live! was averaging approximately 1.77 million total viewers in Quarter 2.
Kimmel addressed the ratings talk on Monday’s show (September 29), the first in a week of broadcasts from the Howard Gilman Opera House at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City. The comedian aired a clip of Vice President JD Vance on Fox News, who claimed certain stations aren’t airing the show because “[Kimmel] is not funny and because his ratings aren’t very good.”
“I have some good news for you, J-Dog. We’re back on all the stations,” Kimmel retorted. “Every home, every bar, every strip club and every prison in America. But, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your bulls***. Go on.”
As for Vance’s comments about Kimmel’s ratings, the late-night host responded, “My ratings aren’t very good? Your ratings are somewhere between a hair in your salad and chlamydia.”
“In three-and-a-half years, I’m not the one who’s gonna be doing mascara tutorials on YouTube,” he continued. “How did we wind up with a president and vice president who wear more makeup than Kylie Jenner and Lady Gaga combined?”
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35 pm ET/PT, ABC
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