David GilmourMay 11th, 2026, 9:21 am

Jimmy Kimmel confirmed Monday that ABC will not air a new episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on the night of Stephen Colbert’s final Late Show broadcast over at CBS, with the host opting to step aside for his longtime late-night rival and ally’s farewell.

According to LateNighter, Kimmel personally confirmed that his show will go dark on Thursday, May 21, when CBS is scheduled to air Colbert’s final episode. Instead, ABC will air a repeat following three new episodes earlier in the week.

The decision, LateNighter noted, echoes a similar move Kimmel made in 2015 when David Letterman retired from the same CBS franchise. At the time, Kimmel said he had too much respect for Letterman to risk drawing viewers away from the historic sendoff.

On May 21, Colbert will close the book after hosting The Late Show, launched by Letterman in 1993, for the past 11 years. CBS announced last year it would end for financial reasons, though the decision landed shortly after Colbert criticized Paramount, CBS News’ parent company, over its settlement in the 60 Minutes lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump.

LateNighter also reported that NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon was still scheduled to air a new episode opposite Colbert’s finale, as of press time.

However, Fallon is set to appear alongside Kimmel and fellow late-night hosts Seth Meyers and John Oliver during a “Strike Force Five” reunion Late Show episode on Monday, so-called after their 2023 podcast, with Letterman to appear on Thursday’s show.

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