After a six-day suspension, Disney, the parent company of ABC, reinstated “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The show faced suspension following a monologue by Kimmel on Sept. 15, making “ill-timed” and “insensitive” comments regarding the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk.

Kimmel’s show is not the first politically charged late-night talk show, as the genre has evolved over many years from entertainment to a pillar of political conversation in media. As far back as the 1949–1951 “Faye Emerson Show,” late-night television has been a vessel for political commentary.

According to CSUN Journalism Professor Elizabeth Blakey, political criticism through comedy and satire is important because it often opens doors for the average American to better understand government happenings.

“Think of someone who doesn’t read congressional reports or legal documentation, but they can understand a joke, and they can understand when someone is criticizing the government,” Blakey said. “The average person can understand and take to heart those critiques of the government, and in a democracy, critiquing the government is fundamental.”

Kimmel’s place in this evolution follows one of the genre’s most defining eras throughout the late 1990s.

When Jon Stewart took over “The Daily Show” in 1999, he notably transformed late-night television into an industry that toes the line between entertainment, satirical political comedy and news.

Stewart hosted “The Daily Show” through pivotal moments in American politics, including the 2000 presidential election of George W. Bush, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Iraq War, the 2008 financial crisis and the Obama Presidency, criticizing Republican and Democratic politics and news alike.

Stewart found a niche for late-night talk shows, nestled between informational and satirical commentary that paved the way for future late-night television hosts. Stephen Colbert got his start in late-night television as a correspondent on “The Daily Show.” In 2003, Colbert began hosting “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

After 22 years, Colbert announced in July 2025 that the show would end its run, due to a “purely financial” decision made by CBS. However, CNN alleges that the decision may not have been entirely financial.

Paramount, the parent company of CBS, reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump. The lawsuit was filed following an episode of CBS News program “60 Minutes,” that interviewed presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The settlement included a $16 million payout from Paramount in addition to written transcripts of future interviews with presidential candidates.

“The company said it would pay $16 million toward Trump’s future presidential library. Trump suggested at the time that there were other components to the settlement,” said CNN.

Blakey raised the nuance of recognizing that private companies like CBS and ABC may hire and fire whomever they choose, while also acknowledging the damaging effects of governmental pressure on free speech.

“They’re in the business to keep their licenses, so you understand what they do, and I don’t hold them responsible. I do think the government should be held responsible,” Blakey said. “Not only is it limiting free speech, but it’s opening the door to more indirect forms of censorship.”

Following the news of the cancellation of “The Late Show,” Trump took to Truth Social to celebrate the show’s upcoming end, stating that Kimmel’s show should end, too.

“I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next,” wrote Trump.

With both Colbert’s show ending and Kimmel facing suspension, political figures from both ends of American politics came out in support of the late-night hosts and their right to free speech.

Candace Owens, a far-right political commentator and friend of Charlie Kirk, denounced the suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on her podcast on Sept. 19. She called the suspension of the show an attack on free speech.

“When you just flip the coin, it’s the same people that are gaining more power. I just want the attacks on free speech to stop,” said Owens.

In the same podcast, Owens clarified that she “doesn’t like Kimmel,” but didn’t think that his comments regarding Kirk justified suspending the show.

Trump has long opposed late-night television hosts who criticize him in their shows. Over the years, he has taken to Truth Social numerous times to comment on television personalities, including Seth Meyers, host of “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” Jimmy Fallon, host of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” along with Kimmel and Colbert.

“Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible,” wrote Trump. “That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT.”

In his first monologue after returning from suspension, Kimmel criticized these infractions against the First Amendment right to free speech.

“Our government cannot be allowed to control what we do and do not say on television,” Kimmel said. “Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke.”

Amid attacks from Trump aimed toward the long-standing political late-night talk show television genre, genuine concerns about free speech in the U.S. arise. From all facets of the political spectrum in the country, politicians critique exactly what the true motives for canceling Colbert and suspending Kimmel’s shows could mean for the future of free speech.

“Censorship is wrong, regardless of who’s doing it,” Republican senator Ted Cruz said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.