File this under ‘not that surprising’ but ABC is replacing its traditional Friday night re-run of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Following the suspension of Kimmel’s late-night show on Wednesday, ABC has been airing repeats of Celebrity Family Feud in its slot and it will continue to do so. At the time, the Disney-owned network said it would air the Steve Harvey-fronted game show in place of JKL! through Thursday but this has now been expanded to tonight.
Given that the situation with Kimmel is a live concern and the comedian will likely restart talks with Disney execs today after a day of virtual meetings yesterday, the network is taking things day-by-day and has not confirmed a plan for next week.
There is still hope that Kimmel and Disney come to an agreement that allows him to return to the airwaves following the controversial benching, which has had late-night hosts, celebrities and news figures outraged at the decision.
Bill Simmons, a friend of Kimmel’s, who used to write for the show in the early years and who shares a manager in James ‘Babydoll’ Dixon, said on his podcast, “There was such a ground swell against Disney this week that I actually went from thinking there was no chance this show was going to come back. I thought Jimmy, rightfully so, was just going to dig in and maybe that was going to be it. But maybe this flips. Maybe what Disney is realizing is that at some point you’ve got to stand for something. At some point, you’ve got to stand by a person who has been one fo the best people you’ve had for 20 plus years… all he’s done to elevate your company, who has come through time and time again in all these different ways.”
There is, obviously, also a chance that Kimmel never returns to the air.
Either way, ABC viewers who stay up late will be able to watch an episode of Celebrity Family Feud starring singer Normani competes with Michelle Buteau and Andy Richter battling Jason Ritter.
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