ENTERTAINMENTJimmy Kimmel's Ratings Lead Challenges the Idea That Political Comedy Scares Viewers Away
Jimmy Kimmel led broadcast late-night during premiere week.
Oct. 3 2026, Published 7:21 a.m. ET
Jimmy Kimmel’s pointed political monologues have made him a frequent target of President Donald Trump, but they have not prevented him from leading broadcast late-night.
‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ averaged 2.29 million viewers during its season debut.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged 2.29 million viewers during premiere week beginning September 21, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day big data and panel ratings. It also led among adults ages 18–49 with a 0.21 rating.
Jimmy Kimmel Wins the 11:35 Hour
Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Tonight Show’ averaged 1.3 million viewers during the same week.
NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon averaged 1.3 million viewers during the same week.
On CBS, Comics Unleashed drew just 704,000 viewers during its first half-hour and 521,000 during its second.
Kimmel’s premiere-week guests included Woody Harrelson, Jamie Foxx, Ke Huy Quan and Ben Affleck, with musical performances from Greta Van Fleet and Brandi Carlile.
The results marked the second consecutive year Jimmy Kimmel Live! began the season as late night’s top broadcast program in both total viewers and the 18–49 demographic. It has now ranked first in the demo during premiere week for five straight years.
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Political Conflict Has Not Driven Viewers Away
Jimmy Kimmel’s political comedy continued to attract a large late-night audience.
The ratings arrive after another year of confrontations between Kimmel and the Trump administration.
Trump has repeatedly demanded that ABC dismiss the host, while first lady Melania Trump called on the network to “take a stand” against him following a joke in April.
Kimmel was also suspended by ABC last September after remarks that angered Trump supporters, but returned six days later.
Those controversies make the latest numbers notable: A more politically confrontational approach may alienate some viewers, but it has not made Kimmel commercially uncompetitive within late night.
His bookings, comedy segments and competition also affect viewership, but the results nevertheless show that pointed criticism of the administration is not inherently incompatible with a large late-night audience.
The Lead Extends Beyond One Week
The show extended its strong ratings performance from the previous television season.
Kimmel also finished the full 2025–2026 television season with an average of 2 million viewers, the show’s strongest total audience since 2017–2018.
Among adults 18–49, it averaged a 0.18 rating, ranking first across late night and delivering its best performance in that demographic in four years.
The week immediately before the new season produced even higher numbers. Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged 2.34 million viewers and a 0.22 demo rating during a shortened three-night week that included former Late Show host Stephen Colbert as a guest.
