Jimmy Kimmel has opened up about how Jon Stewart almost became the original host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a role that eventually launched Kimmel’s two-decade-long late-night career on ABC.
Speaking on the Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast, Kimmel revealed that before he landed 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 close this deal for Jon to host the show.”
Things took a surprising turn when then-ABC chairman Lloyd Braun watched Kimmel’s audition tape.
“Lloyd watched the tape and he was like, ‘I think this might be the guy.’ And he brought the tape to Bob Iger and Iger said, ‘Yeah, I think this might 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 tell Jon, ‘Uh, you’re not going to ABC, but Jimmy is going to ABC,’” he said.
Looking back, Kimmel believes the network made the wrong call.
“That was a mistake by the way. They definitely should hire Jon,” he admitted. “If I’m in that position, there’s no question I hire Jon 100 times out of a 100.”
Kimmel also remembered speaking to Disney CEO Bob Iger after getting the job.
“I told Bob they took quite a leap hiring me, and when I asked why, he said, ‘Well, you were cheaper.’ And everybody laughed, but I knew he wasn’t kidding,” Kimmel said with a smile.
Despite the uncertainty at the start, Jimmy Kimmel Live! found its footing quickly.
“Somehow we wound up getting good ratings. I still don’t know how that was, but they were good enough to keep us on the air,” Kimmel said.
He admitted, however, that those early years were not without challenges.
“Even though I was causing trouble once every, like two and a half months — some major thing was happening. Something that came out of my mouth, you know, and caused a whole thing. It was just tumultuous.”
The host’s comments come shortly after his talk show’s near cancellation last month, when ABC briefly announced it was “preempted indefinitely.”
The move followed an FCC warning about Kimmel’s on-air comments about Charlie Kirk, which led to public criticism and even celebration from Donald Trump.
After returning from suspension, Jimmy Kimmel Live! pulled in a strong 6.26 million viewers for ABC — a sign that despite past controversies and close calls, Kimmel’s late-night legacy remains solidly intact.