Jimmy Kimmel Signs 3-Year Extension for ABC Late-Night Show

Jimmy Kimmel appears at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards in in Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (AP)
Jimmy Kimmel appears at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards in in Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (AP)
TT

Jimmy Kimmel Signs 3-Year Extension for ABC Late-Night Show

Jimmy Kimmel appears at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards in in Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (AP)
Jimmy Kimmel appears at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards in in Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. (AP)

Jimmy Kimmel celebrated his 20th anniversary as ABC’s late-night host early, signing a three-year contract extension for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

“After two decades at ABC, I am now looking forward to three years of what they call ‘quiet quitting,’” Kimmel quipped in a statement Tuesday.

His show debuted in January 2003, and the new deal means he will remain with it into the 2025-26 season — giving him a generous window to make comedic hay out of politicians, who are favorite monologue targets, and the 2024 presidential election.

Among network late-night hosts, Kimmel, CBS’ Stephen Colbert and James Corden and NBC’s Seth Meyers wade regularly into political humor, with Kimmel amping up the focus during the Donald Trump years inside and outside of the White House.

Kimmel’s decision contrasts with changes in late-night programming. Conan O’Brien wrapped his show in 2021, Corden announced that he’s leaving “The Late Late Show” next year for other opportunities, and TBS said that “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” was ending after seven seasons.

Besides his late-night job, Kimmel has become a mainstay as an awards hosts — including for 2017 Oscars when he tried to smooth over the best picture envelopw mix-up that led presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway to wrongly announce “La La Land” as the winner over “Moonlight.”

The three-time Emmys host had a misstep of his own at the Sept. 12 TV awards ceremony, during the presentation of the comedy series writing trophy to Quinta Brunson, creator-star of ABC’s comedy “Abbott Elementary.”

A pretend-drunk Kimmel had been dragged on stage by co-presenter Will Arnett, who announced Brunson’s award, and Kimmel remained flat on his back during her acceptance speech. He was roasted online as thoughtless by some and cited as an example of white-male arrogance by others, and offered an on-air apology to Brunson two days later on his show.

“The last thing I would ever want to do is upset you, because I think so much of you. I think you know that. I hope you know that,” he told her, with Brunson replying, “It’s very kind of you to say that.”

Kimmel also hosts and, with Norman Lear, is executive producer of ABC’s specials “Live in Front of a Studio Audience,” which revisit episodes of classic Lear sitcoms including “All in the Family.” Kimmel also is the creator of the game show, “Generation Gap,” hosted by Kelly Ripa.

He’ll be taking his late-night show, nominated 12 consecutive times for best variety-talk series, to Brooklyn for a week this month. Kimmel, whose long-time sidekick is Guillermo Rodriguez, is known for comedy bits including “I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy,” which are seen on the show and on the YouTube channel that has extended his audience.

Craig Erwich, president of ABC Entertainment, said in a statement that Kimmel has not only entertained viewers with his irreverent humor and interviews but also “gotten us through some of the most momentous events in our history with optimism and heart.”

The host has shared moving details about his young son’s medical issue and called for health care reforms.



Demand for Japanese Content Booms Post 'Shogun'

The critical and commercial success of TV's 'Shogun' has helped spark a new wave of Japanese content being developed for global consumption. Michael Tran / AFP/File
The critical and commercial success of TV's 'Shogun' has helped spark a new wave of Japanese content being developed for global consumption. Michael Tran / AFP/File
TT

Demand for Japanese Content Booms Post 'Shogun'

The critical and commercial success of TV's 'Shogun' has helped spark a new wave of Japanese content being developed for global consumption. Michael Tran / AFP/File
The critical and commercial success of TV's 'Shogun' has helped spark a new wave of Japanese content being developed for global consumption. Michael Tran / AFP/File

But "Shogun", based on the 1975 novel by Australian-British writer James Clavell, broke the mould when the period drama series -- mostly in Japanese and hailed for its authenticity -- won 18 Emmy awards in September.
Other recent Japanese works have also become worldwide hits.
Franco-US-Japanese show "Drops of God", based on a manga of the same name, won best drama series at the International Emmy Awards in November.
Netflix's 2023 adaptation of the manga superhit "One Piece" -- starring Mexican actor Inaki Godoy as the lead -- was hailed by viewers and critics alike and will return for a second season.
More adaptations of major manga and anime hits are in the works, including the superhero adventures of "My Hero Academia" and the ninja escapades of "Naruto".
"Demand from Western markets is clearly increasing," said Kaori Ikeda, managing director at TIFFCOM, the content trade fair affiliated with the Tokyo International Film Festival.
But Japanese companies lack "know-how" when it comes to things like negotiating rights, she told AFP.
So TIFFCOM has organized Tokyo Story Market, a space to facilitate networking and meetings between international producers and Japanese publishers.
'Whitewashing'
Foreign studios are also getting better at avoiding some of the pitfalls of the past, such as the 2017 film version of the manga "Ghost in the Shell" starring Scarlett Johansson.
Critics accused the movie, whose main actors except Takeshi Kitano were all non-Japanese, of "whitewashing".
Similarly, the 2017 supernatural thriller "Death Note" was panned for veering too far from the original manga.
"Manga authors are highly respected and fan communities are very vigilant," said Klaus Zimmermann, producer of "Drops of God".
His adaptation takes some liberties, such as starring a French actor as one of the main characters, but Zimmermann insists it was developed in collaboration with the authors of the original manga.
"It was about finding the spirit of the manga so as not to distort it," he told AFP.
Yuki Takamatsu, a rights negotiator at the manga's publishing house Kodansha, said the process of adapting "Drops of God" was "amazing".
"Everyone was open to tackling those challenges together... At every step, everyone was understanding about how we should do it," he said.
Past failures were in part down to publishers struggling to communicate their wishes to foreign producers, who in turn lacked a proper understanding of manga and anime, Takamatsu said.
"Back just 15, 20 years ago, most of the enquiries we received from those big studios were like, hey, I know 'Dragon Ball', do you have 'Dragon Ball' IP?" Takamatsu told AFP.
"But nowadays, especially since Covid, the producers in their 30s, 40s, they watch anime together with their kids on Netflix or Amazon" and then reach out, he said.
Japanese TV goes global
Japanese broadcasters have also become "better and better (at) presenting and marketing their content" abroad, said Makito Sugiyama, executive director at the Broadcast Program Export Association of Japan (BEAJ).
This includes their participation at global events such as MIPCOM in Cannes, an annual trade show for the television industry, Sugiyama said.
Japanese broadcasters have long had success selling show concepts abroad, like the one for "America's Funniest Home Videos", known in Britain as "You've Been Framed".
Now, some Japanese dramas are also finding a wider echo abroad.
Nippon TV's original drama "Mother" became a hit thanks in part to its Turkish remake, and has been broadcast in around 50 countries.
Western viewers have overcome their initial reluctance to watch series with Asian actors, believes Masaru Akiyama, chief executive of the BEAJ.
"They have got used to it, they don't care anymore. They want to see, they want to feel the stories."
"Shogun" was "a game changer for Japan," he added, and Ikeda agrees.
"That a samurai story with such attention to historical detail can become mainstream entertainment is proof of the potential" of Japanese content, she said.