Jimmy Kimmel on Why He Signed New ABC Deal: ‘I Felt Appreciated’

By Joe Otterson

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Jimmy Kimmel says that he was “seriously considering” ending his ABC late-night show before he signed a new three-year deal with the network.

Kimmel specifically praised Entertainment president Karey Burke and Disney TV Studios bosses Dana Walden and Peter Rice for convincing him to continue on with his show.

“I think I felt appreciated and that is important even if you have a job that people think of as a glamorous job,” Kimmel said Monday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. “You still want to feel like your company is behind you and I do.”

Kimmel also joked that “A lot of [his] relatives would be unemployed” should he decide to end “ Live.”

He also discussed the fact that he often wades into political issues on his show of late, specifically events like the mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas. Kimmel said he believes there is now “an expectation that late-night talk shows will address these horrible things.”

“I wish we didn’t have to,” he said. “But nobody is doing anything about it at all…We seem to forget about these national trageides four days after they happen…My hope in situations like that — I know I don’t have any thoughts that are new or groundbreaking — to just remind people that 97% of Americans believe that we should have background checks for purchases at gun shows and that our politicians don’t listen to us anymore.”

“Sometimes you just cant avoid using that platform to, hopefully, change peoples minds a little bit or getting like minded people to act,” he added later.

Finally, Kimmel was asked about working with Mark Burnett on a new ABC game show despite previously roasting the producer for his role in popularizing Donald Trump.

“I was just joking,” Kimmel said. “But if you’re asking will I remind him 15 times a day that Donald Trump is president because of him? Yes, I will remind him of that 15 times a day.”