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late night battle Jimmy Kimmel’s abrupt hiatus from late night show leads to ratings surge for rival host as Live loses top spot

by duyqyen8386•

JIMMY Kimmel’s hiatus from his popular talk show has seen a ratings surge for a rival host.

The comic is currently on his annual summer break from hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live, leaving a revolving door of celebrity guest hosts to fill in.

Jimmy Kimmel on the set of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", standing against a backdrop of a city skyline at night with a full moon.
Jimmy Kimmel is currently in his summer hiatus from talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!Credit: Getty

 

Host Jimmy Fallon during the monologue.
During his absence, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon took the ratings top spot for the week of June 21Credit: Getty

The 58-year-old’s time away from the program has proven advantageous for The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.

A rival talk show topped late-night broadcast TV’s ratings chart during the week of June 21.

The Tonight Showwith Jimmy Fallon, which airs on NBC, averaged 1.48 million total viewers with four new episodes and one rerun that week.

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! brought in  1.42 million total viewers for the week in question, losing the top spot having only aired reruns.

Stephen Colbert with guests Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers on the Late Show.
From left to right: late night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel (pictured May 2026)Credit: Getty

 

Jimmy Kimmel sitting in a chair in front of the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" set.
Back in 2020, Jimmy Kimmel began hosting a revived Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?Credit: Getty

Kimmel is taking his annual Summer break, where he enjoys family time and European getaways for several weeks in July and August.

When the TV host is away, a list of his celebrity pals were tapped to in on the ABC show.

Last month, Kimmel revealed a controversial TV star was among the famous names stepping in.

He unveiled that Rosie O’Donnell, 64, would be among a stacked list of celebrity guest hosts filling in during his two-month hiatus.

Elsewhere, it was revealed Jimmy was planning to return to another show during his absence from Jimmy Kimmel Live!

He is resuming his hosting duties for another season of the game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, premiering on July 22.

The ABC show’s official Instagram page announced its Season 5 return on Monday.

Jimmy revived the beloved primetime game show in April 2020, taking over as host and executive producer for a 20th-anniversary celebration.

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