Jimmy Kimmel says Stephen Colbert has an open invitation to take over his ABC late-night desk, whether during Kimmel’s regular summer break or whenever the former CBS host feels ready.
Kimmel, 58, addressed the offer in a Wednesday interview with Variety, noting that the timing may still be too soon following the end of Colbert’s CBS run two months earlier.
‘Of course, I asked him, and I think it feels premature,’ Kimmel told the outlet.
Although Colbert declined for now, Kimmel emphasized that the door remains wide open for the 62-year-old former Late Show with Stephen Colbert host to step in as a guest host at any point.
‘I told him, “Anytime you want to host, it doesn’t matter if it’s the summer, I’ll gladly step aside,”‘ Kimmel said.
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for both Kimmel and Colbert seeking additional comment.
Jimmy Kimmel, 58, said he has invited Stephen Colbert, 62, to guest host his ABC late-night show during his summer hiatus or whenever he chooses. Kimmel is pictured in Los Angeles in May
Colbert ended his run on the Late Show in May after 11 seasons
Kimmel’s remarks on Colbert come as a number of guest hosts have filled in for the ABC host’s summer break.
They include Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz and Colman Domingo, with other notable names such as Anthony Anderson, Rosie O’Donnell and Jelly Roll slated to sit in for Kimmel during his off-time.
CBS last year announced Colbert’s show would end in May 2026 after a 10-season run citing economic reasons.
The decision came under controversy as some felt it had been politically-charged to placate President Donald Trump.
Kimmel did not run a show against Colbert’s final broadcast on The Late Show on May 21.
He said on his broadcast the day before that he thought viewers should tune out CBS as a statement in response to Colbert’s cancellation.
‘I think you know how I feel about the fact that they are being pushed out – I hope the people who did the pushing feel ashamed of themselves tonight, although they probably won’t,’ he said on his May 20 show. ‘I hope those of you who watch our show will also tune into CBS for the last time.
‘Don’t ever watch it again, but watch tomorrow night to show Stephen and our friends at The Late Show a fun farewell.’
Kimmel welcomed his one-time late night rival onto his ABC show as a guest last year
Colbert pictured at the 2026 Writers Guild Awards on March 8 in NYC
Kimmel has prospered in the ratings in the wake of Colbert going off the air, as he garnered an average of 3.15 million viewers last month, marking one of his best in the 23 years he’s been on the air.
The ratings spike was a 17 percent boost from May’s 2.69 million and 109 percent in the demographic of adults 18 to 49, from 0.18 to 0.37, marking his best numbers since April of 2020, according to the outlet.
‘The ratings are very strong, which we are very grateful to CBS for their wisdom,’ Kimmel told Variety on Wednesday. ‘We were doing pretty well before that, but that really helped.’
When asked if he felt that the spike was due to ‘orphaned Colbert fans’ tuning in, Kimmel told the outlet, ‘I’ve always thought of our show as an orphanage.’
Kimmel told the outlet that murmurs late night TV was on the outs appear to be premature.
‘It’s silly how people go wild about a podcast that’s No. 5, and the numbers still don’t even compare to a television show,’ he told the outlet. ‘There’s still a lot of people watching late night television, and I include the other shows in that.
‘And there are still a lot of people looking at our shows on YouTube the next day, and there’s a lot of people who are interested in what we have to say. They may just may not necessarily be watching it on their TV, but it seems like a little bit of people are coming back to their old friend television.’
