Jimmy Kimmel’s Huge Week Isn’t Even Over

I think we’ve all known that since his brief suspension last year and this spring’s Strike Force Five reunion in support of Stephen Colbert, and just… life in general, that Jimmy Kimmel was going to face down any kind of opposition with relish and zeal and absolute banger jokes for as long as he’s allowed to make them. But it’s so nice to see that play out early and yes, often…

Tuesday was Kimmel’s first night back after two months off, and he did not pull a single punch. Probably the gentlest joke was Jimmy admitting “Donald Trump and I have one thing in common. We both accomplished NOTHING all summer long.”

That monologue, of course, aired after the Page Six ‘Exclusive’ that ran Tuesday saying Kimmel would be cancelled after 24 years , a claim ABC claimed was ‘inaccurate’, though they stopped short of actually committing to ‘we love Jimmy and we’re keeping him forever!’

Maybe they knew what was to come. Because today Jimmy announced that “due to circumstances beyond our comprehension”, his interview with Democrat and US Senate hopeful James Talarico would not air on TV, but only on his YouTube Channel tomorrow.

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This is… look, I wish we had a different word than ‘pathetic’, right? If whichever powers that be are so scared of a comedian and a politician having an 8-minute conversation that they’re going to ban it from the airwaves!? Not that it stops Kimmel. I feel like he gets more energy from this kind of sparring, because he could not look more reasonable. Which is cold comfort on the one hand, but on the other hand, is kind of maudlin fun.

There was other more straightforward fun. Last night Jimmy’s first guest was Mariska Hargitay, who is going to host the Emmys on Monday for the first time. This interview felt disarmingly real – they talked about how desperately she’s going to be waiting for tiny windows in the show when she’ll get to pee, and I… really relate to this. What is the mind-body connection that explains how getting anxious about when you’re going to pee exacerbates how badly you have to pee? This feels like a real concern, and although we  know the host tends to disappear in the back half of the show and she’ll probably be fine… she’s also 62. Her jokes about wearing incontinence protection are probably at least half true, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they show up in her monologue… or, since Jimmy’s wife is a producer, if he or his writing staff are submitting some jokes for Mariska’s monologue.   

Kaia Gerber was also a guest, and to answer Sarah’s question, no, I’m not watching The Shards …yet, anyway.  (Hilariously, in the captions of pics of Kaia arriving to shoot Kimmel, our photo agency refers to The Shards as “Bret Easton Ellis’s latest and brilliant novel, which many consider his most human work” First of all, that’s a full service caption! Second, why is ‘most human novel’ so unexpectedly damning?!)   I know I’m supposed to have an opinion on whether or not she deserves/will someday deserve the amount of fame and attention she has, and how much of it would be her birthright if she didn’t walk around wearing her mother’s face. I don’t know how the rest of you feel, but what I can confidently say is that she seems game. She’s not shying away either from comparisons or stories about ‘Uncle’ George Clooney. I do find it refreshing that now that nepo baby discourse is in the mainstream, nobody has to pretend they ‘did this on their own’. My biggest eyebrow raise at Kaia Gerber at this point is that as a lifelong summer Muskoka resident, she was mentioned, but did not appear, in Sterling Point. Scheduling issue, or they didn’t ask? Maybe Season 2?

But again, today is only Thursday. Kimmel has  two more monologues this week, not to mention an FCC-banned interview and whatever else the week brings. I hate that he’s constantly under fire but I am LOVING how ready he is for whatever comes at him. Comedian-turned-Talk-Show-Host vs. …the entire American broadcasting infrastructure. Are You Not Entertained?