Jimmy Kimmel has told how Jon Stewart almost became the original host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a role that ultimately launched Kimmel’s two-decade late-night career on ABC.
Speaking about the Where everyone knows your name podcast, Kimmel revealed that before he got the job, ABC was in talks with Stewart to host the show that debuted in January 2003.
“They wanted a traditional late-night talk show in that slot,” Kimmel explained.
“Jon and I have the same manager, James ‘Baby Doll’ Dixon, and James was about to make this deal for Jon to host the show.”
Things took a surprising turn when then-ABC chairman Lloyd Braun viewed Kimmel’s audition tape.
“Lloyd looked at the tape and said, ‘I think this could be the guy.’ And he brought the tape to Bob Iger and Iger said, ‘Yeah, I think this could be the guy,'” Kimmel recalled.
The five-time Emmy winner said it was “a very strange” situation for their shared manager, who had to break the news to Stewart.
“James was in the difficult position of having to say to Jon, ‘You’re not going to ABC, Jimmy’s going to ABC,’” he said.
Looking back, Kimmel believes the network made the wrong decision.
“That was a mistake, by the way. They should definitely hire Jon,” he admitted. “If I’m in that position, there’s no question I’ll hire Jon 100 times out of 100.”
Kimmel also recalled talking to Disney CEO Bob Iger after he got the job.
“I told Bob they had made a big jump by hiring me, and when I asked why, he said, ‘Well, you were cheaper.’ And everyone was laughing, but I knew he wasn’t joking,” Kimmel said with a smile.
Despite the uncertainty in the beginning, Jimmy Kimmel Live! quickly found his feet.
“Somehow we got good ratings. I still don’t know what that was like, but they were good enough to keep us on the air,” Kimmel said.
However, he admitted that those early years were not without challenges.
“Even though I was causing trouble on and off for about two and a half months, something important happened. Something that came out of my mouth, you know, and created something whole. It was just tumultuous.”
The host’s comments come shortly after his talk show was nearly canceled last month, when ABC briefly announced it was being “indefinitely prioritized.”
The move followed an FCC warning about Kimmel’s on-air comments about Charlie Kirk, which led to public criticism and even celebration of Donald Trump.
After returning from suspension, Jimmy Kimmel Live! drew a whopping 6.26 million viewers for ABC — a sign that despite past controversies and close calls, Kimmel’s late-night legacy remains firmly intact.
