{"id":2110869,"date":"2025-10-23T17:17:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T17:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2110869"},"modified":"2025-10-23T17:17:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T17:17:24","slug":"they-wanted-a-traditional-late-night-talk-show-the-story-behind-jimmy-kimmel-landing-live-and-nearly-losing-to-jon-stewart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/they-wanted-a-traditional-late-night-talk-show-the-story-behind-jimmy-kimmel-landing-live-and-nearly-losing-to-jon-stewart\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;They Wanted A Traditional Late Night Talk Show.&#8217; The Story Behind Jimmy Kimmel Landing Live (And Nearly Losing To Jon Stewart)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><i>When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.<\/i><\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Credit: ABC\/Comedy Central<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Just a few weeks ago, the future of Jimmy Kimmel as a late-night talk show host was in question. He had been <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/tv\/articles\/abc-suspends-jimmy-kimmel-live-235411665.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:suspended from his self-titled show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">suspended from his self-titled show, <em>Jimmy Kimmel Live! <\/em><\/a> And whether he would ever come back was unknown. It was certainly a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/tv\/articles\/jimmy-kimmel-saw-huge-spike-145521449.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:wild few days for Kimmel;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">wild few days for Kimmel<\/a>, but potentially not as crazy as the story of how he got the job in the first place. A situation that apparently had him stealing the job away from Jon Stewart.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In an appearance on the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Gd5yN4vXo8U\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast<\/a>, Kimmel told the story of how he got hired as the host of ABC\u2019s first traditional late-night talk show. Kimmel credits producer Michael Davies, who had hired Kimmel to co-host Comedy Central game show <em>Win Ben Stein\u2019s Money,<\/em> for suggesting him to ABC President Lloyd Braun. Kimmel added that Jon Stewart nearly had the job locked up when things changed. Kimmel said:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"mb-4 border-l-2 pl-5 italic text-tertiary\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">They were almost about to hire Jon Stewart, and Jon and I had the same manager, James \u201cBaby Doll\u201d Dixon.\u201d And James was about to close this deal for Jon to host the show, and Michael [Davies] said, \u2018I want you to watch a tape of this other guy. And Lloyd watched the tape and was like, \u2018I think this might be the guy.\u2019 And he brought the tape to Bob Iger, and Iger said, \u2018Yeah, I think this might be the guy.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cinemablend.com\/television\/2548269\/jon-stewarts-biggest-regret-about-hosting-the-daily-show\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Jon Stewart had only been hosting The Daily Show;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Jon Stewart had only been hosting <em>The Daily Show<\/em><\/a> for a couple of years at the point this would have been happening. Somewhat ironically, it was a job he got after the previous <em>Daily Show<\/em> host,<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cinemablend.com\/television\/Apparently-Mike-Rowe-Was-Almost-Hired-Daily-Show-Host-78637.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Craig Kilborn, had been hired away;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"> Craig Kilborn, had been hired away<\/a> to host the show following David Letterman&#8217;s new show on CBS. ABC only moved forward with its late-night talk show that Kimmel ended up hosting after Letterman decided to go to CBS and not ABC.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Kimmel admits he had no idea he had even been suggested as the host, as it wasn\u2019t public knowledge at the time that ABC was looking to replace <em>Politically Incorrect<\/em> or that &#8220;they wanted a traditional late-night talk show.&#8221; The show would eventually be moved into the <em>Nightline<\/em> time slot to compete directly with other major late-night shows.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">According to Kimmel, ABC brought him into a meeting under false pretenses to discuss hosting a Thursday night variety show. He apparently spent that meeting talking about David Letterman, Kimmel\u2019s talk show idol, with the President of ABC, and the discussion of hosting any sort of a show never came up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Kimmel says he first heard about the late-night show because the secretary to the President of ABC was married to his <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cinemablend.com\/television\/2465560\/how-jimmy-kimmel-thinks-the-man-show-would-do-if-it-aired-now\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:The Man Show co-host, Adam Carolla,;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>The Man Show<\/em> co-host, Adam Carolla,<\/a> who was also friends with Kimmel\u2019s wife. Ultimately, he was hired, which put his manager in an awkward position. Kimmel continued:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"mb-4 border-l-2 pl-5 italic text-tertiary\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It was a very strange thing because Jon and I had the same manager. Now he\u2019s in the difficult position of having to tell Jon, like, \u2018You\u2019re not going to ABC, but Jimmy is going to ABC.\u2019 That was a mistake, by the way, they definitely should have hired Jon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Jon Stewart, of course, was fine without it. He transformed <em>The Daily Show<\/em> into a late-night heavyweight in its own right. He&#8217;s now <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cinemablend.com\/television\/jon-stewart-reflects-returning-the-daily-show-what-didn-t-work-first-time-around\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:back hosting the show after a stint with Apple TV+;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">back hosting the show after a stint with Apple TV+<\/a>. Although that does raise questions about why ABC decided to go with Kimmel, a relative unknown at the time, over the better-known Stewart. It turns out Kimmel himself asked Disney CEO Bob Iger that question once, and got a somewhat blunt answer:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"mb-4 border-l-2 pl-5 italic text-tertiary\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bob later said, I said, \u2018What was it? This was quite a leap that you guys made. I was on The Man Show. I was doing football picks on Fox NFL Sunday. What was it?\u2019 And he goes, \u2018Well, you were cheaper.\u2019 And everybody laughed, but I knew he wasn\u2019t kidding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Kimmel may have been cheaper at the time, but a quarter century later, it does appear that money was well spent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: ABC\/Comedy Central Just a few weeks ago, the future of Jimmy Kimmel as a late-night talk show host was in question. He had been suspended from his self-titled show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! And whether he would ever [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2110870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[375104,375058,23060,38667,399795],"class_list":["post-2110869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-bob-iger","tag-david-letterman","tag-jimmy-kimmel","tag-jon-stewart","tag-michael-davies"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/They-Wanted-A-Traditional-Late-Night-Talk-Show-The-Story.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2110869"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2110871,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110869\/revisions\/2110871"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2110870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2110869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2110869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2110869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}