Too Much TV: We Are All Jimmy Kimmel

Sometimes a small event feels like a very big tipping point.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, September 18th, 2025:

PRODUCTION NOTES
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WE ARE ALL JIMMY KIMMEL
ABC announced on Wednesday evening that it was pulling Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show "indefinitely" after criticism of comments he made on Monday night's show about the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

In his Monday night monologue, Kimmel accused conservatives of trying to score political points off Kirk’s death. But primarily, he mocked the way President Trump mourned the death of Kirk:

"We hit some new lows over the weekend, with the MAGA gang desperately trying to categorize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them. And they're doing everything they can to score political points from it. In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving. On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half-staff and got some criticism. But on a human level, you can see how hard the President is taking it. (shows footage of comments from the President shrugging off commenting on Kirk's death to talk about the construction of the new White House ballroom).

He's at the fourth stage of grief. Construction. There's demolition...destruction...This is not how an adult grieves the death of someone he called a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish. And it didn't just happen once (show footage of Trump on Fox & Friends, talking again about the ballroom)..."and then we installed the most beautiful chandeliers. Sconces, you wouldn't believe."

There's something wrong with him, there really is."

If you notice, Kimmel actually said very little about Kirk's killer in his monologue. He focused primarily on mocking Trump's response, which might be the primary reason why conservatives have spent the past 48 hours complaining loudly about his comments without really discussing the specifics about what they found objectionable.

That pushback culminated on Wednesday afternoon with an appearance by FCC Chair Brendan Carr on Benny Johnson's podcast, "The Benny Show." Carr suggested the comments could lead to sanctions from the FCC, and he suggested ABC should take action before the FCC steps in. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel - or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."

He also suggested that local network affiliates for ABC and NBC should take action against the network. He also said he could see a possibility that Jimmy Kimmel could be suspended.

And it didn't take long for Nexstar, which owns a group of primarily smaller ABC affiliates, to announce it was pre-empting episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the “foreseeable future.”

“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” said Andrew Alford, President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division. “Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue."

If you are wondering why Nexstar made this move so quickly, I'll just point you to the fact that Nexstar Media Group agreed to acquire broadcast rival Tegna in a $6.2 billion deal last month. A deal which, not coincidentally, requires the approval of the FCC.

By late afternoon on Wednesday, ABC had announced it was pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live "indefinitely." According to several people I spoke with, the decision was made after Kimmel told them he would address his previous comments around Charlie Kirk in his monologue tonight. And honestly, I can't imagine the network is in any rush to return him to the air. Kimmel has been consistently brutal in his criticism of the Trump Administration and Donald Trump. This is likely one reason why the President has suggested several times that Jimmy Kimmel needed to be removed from the air.

I am generally not much one for comparing this moment to other times in recent history, and I am certainly not in favor of making comparisons to Hitler. But I read a piece today by Jonathan Katz that really resonated with me. In the piece, he argued that the murder of Charlie Kirk was becoming for Trump what The Reichstag Fire became for Hitler - a way to consolidate power and shut down opposition voices:

In fact, historians broadly agree that the Reichstag Fire wasn’t a false flag, or at least not entirely: whatever happened after the fire began, the most convincing evidence is that a single unemployed and partially disabled Dutch council communist, Marinus van der Lubbe, started the fire alone. Van der Lubbe, who was 24 at the time, seems to have done so in the quixotic hope of inspiring an uprising to force out Hitler, whose chancellorship was at that point just four weeks old.

The Nazi lie came in what happened after, when Hitler and his adjutants invented the story of a vast conspiracy by the Communist Party of Germany to set the fire as the opening wave of an organized revolution. On the basis of that lie, Hitler convinced German President Paul von Hindenburg to suspend civil liberties across the country. The preamble and first article of the decree read as follows:

In virtue of Article 48(2) of the German Constitution, the following is decreed as a defensive measure against communist acts of violence endangering the state:

Article 1
Sections 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124, and 153 of the Constitution of the German Reich are suspended until further notice. Therefore, restrictions on personal liberty, on the right of free expression of opinion, including freedom of the press, on the right of assembly and the right of association, and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic, and telephonic communications, warrants for house searches, orders for confiscations, as well as restrictions on property, are also permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed.

Violators of Article I were to be imprisoned for at least six months and, if found to have “caused the death of a person,” sentenced to death — a punishment rarely employed in the Weimar Republic until that point. Crimes previously punishable by life in prison were also escalated to the death penalty. Other violations punishable by death were “serious rioting” and “serious disturbance of the peace” — crimes that would now be adjudicated in Berlin by Hermann Göring's Prussian Ministry of the Interior. The Reich cabinet was also given the power to take over state governments directly, which it did.

A month later — speech stifled, the Communist party banned, many opposition deputies detained or headed into exile, and Nazi brownshirts intimidating lawmakers on the parliamentary floor — the parliament passed the Enabling Act of 1933. This law gave Hitler the power to make and enforce laws without consulting either parliament or the president (who anyway died a year later). With his control now complete, there would be no legal means to dislodge or even dissuade him for the rest of his life.

While the United States is not there yet, it's increasingly clear that Trump's Administration and its allies are using Kirk's death as a way to shut down opposing speech and inflict financial pain on its critics. But it is not a done deal.

Even if you are not a fan of Jimmy Kimmel. Even if you voted for Donald Trump and agree with many of his policies, this move by ABC cannot stand. Because your favorite show might be next. And if you are a Republican, do you trust a Democratic president to not do the same thing to conservative media when he or she is in the position to do so?

And if you think Kimmel being pulled from the air is not a political decision, President Trump just posted this message on the Truth Social platform, and it isn't exactly subtle:

"Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT”

This is not the time for angry tweets or for a politician to send a "sharply worded letter of disapproval." We are all Jimmy Kimmel now, and we need to fight this with all of the powers available to us.

First, contact your local ABC station and complain. That includes a phone call every day until Kimmel returns to the air.

If you are in a market that has a Nexstar ABC affiliate, it's doubly important that you make your unhappiness known to the station. And it will be easier to have an impact, because most of these stations are in smaller media markets:

Albany, NY (WTEN)
Augusta, GA (WJBF)
Billings, MT (KSVI)
Binghamton, NY (WIVT)
Dothan, AL (WDHN)
Erie, PA (WJET)
Evansville, IN (WEHT)
Harrisburg, PA (WHTM)
Hartford/New Haven, CT (WTNH)
Knoxville, TN (WATE)
Midland/Odessa, TX (KMID)
Nashville (WKRN)
New Orleans (WGNO)
Panama City, FL (WMBB)
Richmond, VA (WRIC)
Salt Lake City (KTVX)
Sioux City, IA (KCAU)
Syracuse, NY (WSYR)
Watertown, NY (WWTI)

Call the station, organize boycotts, plan protests in front of the station, and at events where you know someone from the station will be present.

We are all Jimmy Kimmel.

Contact your local Congressperson and Senator and ask them to talk about this issue. If you are a businessperson currently advertising on an ABC station, pull your ads and let the station know why you are doing it.

And I would like to see this become a rallying cry for opponents of government overreach. Perhaps someone with a connection to the Indivisible movement can convince them to turn their next planned protests into a "We Are All Jimmy Kimmel" event.

This might sound like hysteria, and you might believe that I am making too big a deal of this. But if Jimmy Kimmel can lose his job, any of us can. All we have to do is say something that the Trump Administration or its allies disagree with.

TWEET OF THE DAY

ODDS AND SODS
* The animated series Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch premieres Tuesday, October 14th on Netflix. Here is a first video look at the series.

* The documentary Prime Minister premieres Tuesday, September 30th on HBO. Here is a first video look at the film. And here is the official logline: "In August 2017, Jacinda Ardern unexpectedly became New Zealand’s opposition party leader just weeks before the national election. She had just turned 37 years old. Two frenetic months later, she was Prime Minister and had just learned she was pregnant. She would become the second head of state in history to give birth while in office. Ardern quickly became one of the most recognizable leaders in the world, drawing global attention from anyone craving a sensitive and compassionate approach to the critical issues of our time. In private, she struggled with new motherhood and proving herself to a public skeptical of female leadership. A series of crises — the Christchurch massacre, pandemic lockdowns, and disinformation-fueled protests outside Parliament — would test that leadership and the unique approach she brought to it. She resigned from office in January 2023, shocking her supporters and critics alike."

* The theatrical film Superman premieres Friday, September 19th on HBO Max.

* The film She Walks In Darkness premieres Friday, October 17th on Netflix. Here is a first video look at the film. And here is the official logline: "She Walks In Darkness is inspired by the largest undercover operation against ETA, which marked a turning point in the fight against terrorism in Spain. Set against the historical, political, and social backdrop of the 1990s and 2000s, the film tells the story of Amaia (Susana Abaitua), a young Civil Guard officer who spends more than a decade working undercover within the terrorist group, with the aim of locating the hideouts they had hidden in the south of France."

* The new design series Anything But Gray premieres Saturday, October 18th on the Magnolia Network. Here is the official logline: "In Anything But Gray, each episode takes audiences inside a Charleston home ready for a refresh, where designer Gray Benko’s bold use of color, whimsy, and imaginative design solutions redefine what it means to create a forever home. The series balances heartfelt family moments with surprising transformations, highlighting the joy of design that refuses to blend in."

WHAT'S COMING TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH:
* Billionaires' Bunker Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Black Rabbit Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Reasonable Doubt Season Three Premiere (Hulu)
* Necaxa Season One Finale (FXX)

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH:
* Chief Of War Season One Finale (Apple TV+)
* Haunted Hotel Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Lego Star Wars: Rebuild The Galaxy - Pieces Of The Past (Disney+)
* Scariest House in America Season Two Premiere (HGTV)
* The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy Season Three Premiere (Apple TV+)
* Zillow Gone Wild Season Two Premiere (HGTV)

SEE YOU EARLY FRIDAY MORNING!