Jimmy Kimmel to Take a Summer Break from His ABC Talk Show; Guest Hosts Will Fill In

After nearly 18 years and 3,130 episodes, Jimmy Kimmel is taking a breather as host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” The ABC late night show will shift to guest hosts this summer as Kimmel takes a sabbatical.

“There’s nothing wrong, I’m healthy, my family’s healthy, I just need a couple of months off,” Kimmel said.

Kimmel revealed on Thursday night’s episode that this would be his last new show for the summer. He plans to take the next few months to spend more time with his family; he’s already set to return in September to host the 72nd Emmys on Sunday, Sept. 20.

“While Jimmy’s gone a cavalcade of very kind and capable people will be filling in,” the show said in a statement, although specific names have not yet been announced. The guest-hosted shows will start on Monday, July 6.

In 2017, Kimmel took time off for his infant son, who was born with a congenital disease and later underwent multiple open-heart surgeries. In May that year, Will Arnett, Anthony Anderson, Kristen Bell and David Spade filled in; then in November, it was Shaquille O’Neal, Dave Grohl, Channing Tatum and Jennifer Lawrence, and in December, Chris Pratt, Tracee Ellis Ross, Neil Patrick Harris and Melissa McCarthy.

Kimmel has been hosting a 30-minute version of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” from his home since March, as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down studio-based productions. The show briefly moved to its old slot of 12:05 a.m. in order to move “Nightline” to 11:35; but since mid-April “Jimmy Kimmel Live” has been back in its normal 11:35 p.m. slot.

Kimmel also hosts ABC’s revival of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” which returns next season on Sunday nights.

As Kimmel announced his summer vacation, he also had some fun with the show’s long-time “nemesis” Matt Damon. Continuing the show’s long-running gag about a feud between Kimmel and Damon, Kimmel is seen discovering that Matt Damon has been living in his house for the entirety of the quarantine.

“What am I going to do? I haven’t been on, I’ve been back here, three months, waiting to get on,” quipped a disheveled Damon, in bathrobe.

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