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Jimmy Kimmel is sounding off about the future of the late-night format.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host — who on Sunday, Jan. 4 took home the trophy for Best Talk Show at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards — revealed to reporters backstage that he believes there “will always be late night talk shows” when asked about what he thinks will happen to the format.
“They may not happen late at night. I think there are some shows that are called late night talk shows that aren’t late night talk shows that still have the same format, and maybe we need a different term for them, but it seems to me it’s one of the cheapest forms of broadcasting, and it would be very surprising to me if it, it went away entirely,” Kimmel, 58, said. “Maybe it won’t be as big, maybe there won’t be a big band welcoming the host of the stage, maybe there won’t be 15 writers, but I think there will be some version of late night talk show.”
He added, “And in a way, maybe it’ll be better because maybe there will be more opportunities for more people of various backgrounds and ages and niche programming that I think could be a lot of fun to watch.”
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Kimmel, who has hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live! since its 2003 premiere on ABC, won the award for Best Talk Show over the weekend at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica. The category marked his 10th nod for Jimmy Kimmel Live! and his first win since 2018.
He was nominated alongside The Daily Show (Comedy Central), Hot Ones (YouTube), Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC), The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS) and Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (Bravo).
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During his acceptance speech, Kimmel jokingly thanked President Donald Trump, who he has repeatedly criticized on his show.
“And most of all, I wanna thank our president, Donald Jennifer Trump, without whom we would be going home empty-handed tonight,” he said. “So thank you, Mr. President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day. It’s been a banner couple of weeks, and we can’t wait to get back on the air tomorrow night to talk about them.”
Kimmel also recalled the challenges Jimmy Kimmel Live! has faced over the last few months while speaking with reporters after his latest win. “It was almost a near-death experience for me. Of course, not literally, but I did feel a little bit like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn watching their own funeral, when all this stuff happened,” he said of his show being taken off the air in September following comments he made about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s death.
“To be here and to see that people reacted to it in not just a positive way, but in almost a desperate way, we’re like, ‘Oh boy, when they come after the comedians, this is when we draw the line,’ ” he added. “We’re very grateful that they drew the line at us.”
Back in December, Kimmel signed a one-year extension of his contract with ABC, as Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return for the 2026-2027 season.
See PEOPLE’s full coverage of the 31st annual Critics Choice Awards.
