Jimmy Kimmel To Take The Summer Off From His Talk Show To Spend Time With His Family
On Thursday night, Jimmy Kimmel announced that he would be taking the rest of the summer off from his hosting job on ABC’s late-night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, People reported.
The news came out of a clip released ahead of his Thursday night episode, which served as his final episode for the remainder of the season.
“Tonight is my last new show for the summer. I’m taking the summer off to spend even more time with my family,” Kimmel said.
He went on to say that he had been doing the job for “almost 18 years,” and specified that he had done over 3,000 shows in that time.
“And there’s nothing wrong — my family is healthy, I’m healthy — I just need a couple of months off.”
In the short video, Kimmel spoke the camera to explain his decision to take a break from the show.
Actor Matt Damon, a long-time “nemesis” of Kimmel, also appeared to jokingly discuss how unhappy he was with the host’s decision to take time off.
The Ford v Ferrari actor and Kimmel performed a back-and-forth bit as Damon alleged that he had been living in the other man’s spare bedroom for three months waiting for his chance to “get on” the show.
The only thing worse than quarantine is finding out Matt Damon has been in your house the whole time… pic.twitter.com/obZTVzwWiy
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) June 19, 2020
Despite the 52-year-old host taking time off, his popular late-night television show will continue with guest-hosted episodes. The series will take a brief two-week hiatus before returning with new episodes on July 6. It is not yet clear who the guest hosts will be.
According to Entertainment Weekly, this will not be the first time celebrities have filled in for the comedian.
In 2017, he was forced to take time off to take care of his son, who “was born with a congenital disease and needed to undergo numerous surgeries.”
At the time, stars like Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence, Tracee Ellis Ross, and more, helped out by guest-hosting episodes of his show.
Like other late-night talk show hosts, Kimmel has been producing new episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! from home amid the coronavirus pandemic. It is likely that the guest hosts will do the same.
Fans have already taken to social media to try and guess which A-list celebrities might fill in for the host this time.
Others wished him well and thanked him for beginning them joy in quarantine.
“Thanks for all the great episodes from home. You’ve handled the transition super well. Enjoy your break!” tweeted one fan.
Earlier this week, The Inquisitr reported that Kimmel would be returning to host the upcoming Primetime Emmy Awards for the third time. Currently, the awards show is set to air as normal, although it could potentially be filmed remotely.
