Overview
- On Dec. 18, Kimmel opened his final 2025 episode in tears, calling it a “strange” and “hard” year and telling fans they “literally pulled us out of a hole.”
- ABC briefly suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! in September after his remarks on Charlie Kirk’s killing, following complaints from Nexstar and Sinclair and pressure linked to FCC chair Brendan Carr, then reversed within days after backlash as his return drew the show’s most-watched regular episode.
- Kimmel kept up his feud with President Trump, mocking the Dec. 17 primetime address from the White House and lampooning the speech on-air.
- He referenced a Senate hearing that questioned Carr about the suspension, saying no one was held accountable and nothing was done to prevent a repeat.
- Kimmel’s year also included the on-air mourning of bandleader Cleto Escobedo III and a new Disney/ABC deal that keeps the show on air through at least May 2027.