Entertainment
Jimmy Kimmel’s ratings jumped to their highest in years with his return to ABC’s airwaves
The much-anticipated episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” following the comedian’s return from his suspension drew a broadcast audience about four times larger than average, according to Nielsen ratings data. This was despite the late-night show being preempted by about a quarter of all ABC affiliate TV stations in the U.S.
Tuesday’s show drew an estimated 6.26 million total broadcast viewers, Disney said in a news release Wednesday, per numbers compiled by Nielsen, an audience measurement firm. The data does not include those who watched the episode on streaming platforms.
For comparison, according to numbers provided to CBS News by a Disney spokesperson, Kimmel’s show averaged 1.42 million broadcast viewers during its 2024-25 season — less than a quarter of what it saw on Tuesday night.
Tuesday’s broadcast also drew a 0.87 rating in the coveted demographic of adults ages 18 to 49, Disney said, the highest for a single episode of Kimmel’s show since March 2015. The show averaged a 0.13 rating for that age group last season, Disney said.
Kimmel’s monologue also drew more than 26 million views on YouTube and other social platforms, according to Disney, which owns ABC. In it, he showed a video clip of President Trump criticizing the show, saying it “had no ratings.”
The host responded: “Well, I do tonight.”
The late-night show was temporarily preempted last week following comments Kimmel made during a Sept. 15 monologue regarding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said at the time.
In a Sept. 17 interview, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr called Kimmel’s remarks “some of the sickest conduct possible,” and said there was a “path forward for suspension over this.” Within hours of Carr’s comments, two major station owners, Nexstar and Sinclair, announced they were preempting Kimmel’s show indefinitely from their affiliates, while ABC also announced that it was “indefinitely” suspending the show.
Nexstar has a deal pending to purchase fellow station operator Tegna for $6.2 billion, and needs the FCC’s approval for it to go through.
While ABC announced Monday that it had made the decision to bring Kimmel back to the airwaves, both Nexstar and Sinclair said this week that the show will continue to be preempted indefinitely.
Nexstar said it is “continuing to evaluate the status” of the show. It operates 33 ABC affiliates, while Sinclair runs 38 ABC stations. According to Disney, the two media companies account for ABC stations in about 23% of the U.S. market, including in large cities such as Nashville and Seattle.
In his monologue Tuesday, while he did not issue a blanket apology over his comments, Kimmel said that “it’s important to me as a human, and that is, you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.”
In a Sept. 17 Truth Social post following Kimmel’s suspension, Mr. Trump — who has railed against late-night hosts for years going back to his first administration, and has specifically criticized their ratings — wrote on Truth Social that “[t]he ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED.”
Before the show aired Tuesday, Mr. Trump again took to social media to write that “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled!”
contributed to this report.
By Washington Post book critic Ron Charles
2025 offered a feast of great books. To help build your never-ending reading list, here are five titles we particularly enjoyed over the past 12 months:
Simon & Schuster
Lucas Schaefer’s debut novel, “The Slip” (Simon & Schuster), won this year’s Kirkus Prize for Fiction. The story takes place in and around a boxing gym in Austin, Texas, where two lonely teenagers are eager to remake their identities wherever that might lead them.
This sweaty comic masterpiece tackles our most pressing social debates, and delivers a knockout.
Read an excerpt: “The Slip” by Lucas Schaefer
“The Slip” by Lucas Schaefer (Simon & Schuster), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Sourcebooks Landmark 
Susie Dent’s debut novel, “Guilty by Definition” (Sourcebooks Landmark), introduces a dictionary editor in Oxford who begins receiving strange messages about her sister’s long-ago disappearance.
As she follows these clues, she is led into literary puzzles and unresolved parts of her past. Readers who savor wordplay as much as suspense should look up this clever mystery.
Read an excerpt: “Guilty by Definition” by Susie Dent
“Guilty by Definition” by Susie Dent (Sourcebooks Landmark), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Riverhead Books 
“Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State” (Riverhead Books), by Caleb Gayle, traces the rise of Edward McCabe through Kansas and the Oklahoma Territory as Black migrants pursued land, safety and power in the Jim Crow era.
Confronting hostile politics and violent resistance, McCabe fought for community and self-determination, and Gayle lays out this charged landscape to reveal a crucial but long-obscured chapter in the struggle for freedom.
Read an excerpt: “Black Moses” by Caleb Gayle
“Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State” by Caleb Gayle (Riverhead Books), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
calebgayle.com (Official site)
Knopf 
Karen Russell’s “The Antidote” (Knopf) is a dazzlingly original novel that hovers between fable and history.
This wild tempest of a tale set in Depression-era Nebraska follows a prairie witch and a high school girl swept up into a tumultuous western epic about the tragedies and ambitions of Manifest Destiny.
Read an excerpt: “The Antidote” by Karen Russell
“The Antidote” by Karen Russell (Knopf), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Crown 
Rick Atkinson’s “The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780” (Crown), the second book in his planned trilogy, delivers a chronicle of the American Revolution with irresistible narrative drive.
Moving between battles and diplomacy, he brings Washington, Franklin and their rivals to life while tracing the nation’s fight for independence. The result is an immersive work of history just in time for America’s 250th anniversary.
Read an excerpt: “The Fate of the Day” by Rick Atkinson
“The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 (Volume Two of the Revolution Trilogy)” by Rick Atkinson (Crown), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Historian Rick Atkinson (Official site)
Rick Atkinson on how the U.S. Army was born – and a free nation realized (“Sunday Morning”)
That’s it for the Book Report. It’s been great fun to talk to you about good books over the past year. Here’s to many more in 2026.
I’m Ron Charles. Until next time, read on!
For more info:
For more reading recommendations, check out our library of previous Book Report features from Ron Charles:
Selena Gomez is treating herself to a self care routine ahead of welcoming the New Year.
The Only Murders in the Building star took a quick trip to a tanning salon over the weekend.
On Saturday, December 27, she was spotted visiting Palm Beach Tan in Beverly Hills, California.
As per photos circulating over social media, the 33-year-old singer and actress looked relaxed and low-key as she left the popular salon.
For the casual outing, the Calm Down songstress was dressed casually in a white tank top, black sweatpants, and some fuzzy slippers.
She accessorised her look with a pair of sunglasses and some plum-colored over-the-ear wireless headphones.
The Lose You to Love Me singer was also seen carrying her iPhone and a fluffy jacket.
Prior to her latest sighting, Gomez, who is married to music producer Benny Blanco, was seen out on Christmas Eve.
She was spotted in a black ensemble as she visited a dermatology office in the same area.
Earlier in December, she and her new husband celebrated decorating their first Christmas tree together as a married couple.
They decorated the festive-staple with various ornaments and recorded the process to share it with their admirers.
The Book Report: Ron Charles’ picks from 2025
2025: The year’s top books
Satcom rollout: Services to start after security clearances and spectrum pricing; telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia gives this update – The Times of India
Alabama turned Oklahoma’s College Football Playoff dream into a nightmare
Rare look inside the secret LEGO Museum reveals the system behind a toy giant’s remarkable longevity
Gold prices in Pakistan Today – December 20, 2025 | The Express Tribune
-
Sports1 week ago
Alabama turned Oklahoma’s College Football Playoff dream into a nightmare
-
Entertainment1 week agoRare look inside the secret LEGO Museum reveals the system behind a toy giant’s remarkable longevity
-
Business1 week ago
Gold prices in Pakistan Today – December 20, 2025 | The Express Tribune
-
Business1 week agoRome: Tourists to face €2 fee to get near Trevi Fountain
-
Entertainment1 week agoIndia drops Shubman Gill from T20 World Cup squad
-
Entertainment1 week agoZoe Kravitz teases fans with ring in wedding finger
-
Tech1 week agoWe Tried and Tested the Best Gifts for Plant Lovers With Our Own Green Thumbs
-
Politics1 week agoUS intercepts oil tanker off Venezuelan coast, Reports