Page Six says Jimmy Kimmel is done in 2027. ABC says that's wrong. Nobody fully believes ABC.
A Page Six bombshell claims Kimmel's contract won't be renewed past May 2027, making this Season 24 his last. ABC denied it immediately. The denial is not exactly convincing.
In brief
Page Six says Jimmy Kimmel is done in 2027. ABC says that's wrong. Nobody fully believes ABC.
Jimmy Kimmel walked back onto the Jimmy Kimmel Live! stage Tuesday night for his Season 24 premiere and got right to the point. "This is our 4,000th show," he told the crowd at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, then noted that certain people had spent years trying to make sure that number never got that high. The line landed. But the bigger story was happening off-camera, in a rapid-fire news cycle that had the late-night industry holding its breath before the monologue even started.
Page Six reported first, and TMZ confirmed: Jimmy Kimmel Live! is reportedly set to end after its current season, with Kimmel's contract with ABC not expected to be renewed once his current deal runs out in May 2027. The tabloid cited a source close to the situation, and the quote was blunt. "His contract is not getting extended," that source told Page Six, which noted Kimmel signs one-year contracts with the Disney-owned network.
ABC moved fast to kill the story. An ABC Entertainment spokesperson told both Page Six and The Hollywood Reporter: "The information is inaccurate, any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative." Separately, a source close to Kimmel also denied to The Hollywood Reporter that there was any truth to the report.
Fine. Except.
The Hollywood Reporter pointed out there is some truth to what Page Six published. Kimmel's contract is up next May. That's how one-year deals work. And there's a good chance the deal does not get re-upped, especially in its current form.
One source also told TMZ there is talk among staff that Kimmel has been working on pitching other shows and podcasts around town. ABC is pushing back, calling the report speculation, but Kimmel has been working on year-to-year deals and has openly talked in recent months about eventually hanging it up.
The context here matters enormously. Page Six's report follows Stephen Colbert's exit from CBS's The Late Show, which ended in May after Colbert's own clashes with Trump. Trump applauded when Colbert's show was canceled and said that Kimmel would be "next," adding that the host has "even less talent than Colbert." So the pattern is easy to read into, even if the facts are still soft.
Page Six reported that the new season of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which premiered on ABC on Tuesday, "would wrap with Kimmel's final episode" in May 2027. That's a specific, newsworthy claim. ABC's denial is equally specific. The conflict between them is what's generating the churn.
The comedian typically signs one-year contract extensions, an uncommon arrangement in television that gives him greater flexibility than most late-night hosts. That structure is part of why this particular story has legs every year Kimmel's contract approaches expiration. But this cycle feels different.
The political backdrop is inescapable. Disney previously halted production of Kimmel's show last year after Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group pulled it from their ABC affiliates, a move that came after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened action against the network over remarks Kimmel made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk's assassination. In September 2025, ABC temporarily pulled the show off the air after Kimmel's monologue about the killing of Charlie Kirk. Kimmel said MAGA figures were trying to portray the alleged killer as not being one of them, which prompted backlash that his remarks were insensitive.
Kimmel came back from that suspension and, by all accounts, came back stronger. The late-night show is up for six awards at the upcoming Emmys on September 14. The host returned to TV last night after voluntarily taking the summer off and handing over the reins to a rotation of celebrity guest hosts. Kimmel acknowledged his ongoing feud with the White House in the opening monologue.
Like past summers, Kimmel and ABC enlisted a suite of guest hosts to take over hosting duties, which this year included Tiffany Haddish, Anthony Anderson, Ike Barinholtz, Colman Domingo, Rosie O'Donnell and Jelly Roll. That's a long, star-heavy bench for a show reportedly on its way out. Whether it reads as a network investing in its franchise or a gracious send-off rotation is genuinely unclear.
What's not unclear: Kimmel himself has not confirmed that he plans to leave, so fans may have to wait until closer to 2027 to learn whether this really is the final chapter of his late-night career or simply another round of retirement rumors. The question hanging over Tuesday's premiere was whether viewers were watching a show with its best years ahead, or a very good party that just doesn't know it's almost over.
Kimmel cracked his 4,000th episode joke on Tuesday. The White House, per TMZ's sources, is still making calls.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
