It has been an eventful year over at Jimmy Kimmel Live! and that is an understatement. Of course, the talk-show host was embroiled in a conflict over some content in his monologue, which led to his being taken off the air by a couple of station groups, with ABC pausing production before public pressure (and Disney+ cancellations) led to his reinstatement.
Since then, he has been stronger than ever, and now with the demise of Stephen Colbert’s CBS show, it appears ratings are increasing and JKL! may be the key beneficiary as new late-night audiences are discovering him. The show also just won a prestigious Peabody Award, and Emmy buzz is as strong as ever.
Right in the thick of it all, a steady hand if ever there was one, is his head writer and executive producer Molly McNearney, who also happens to be married to the star. She joined the show in 2004 as a writers assistant, became co-head writer in 2008, and later added EP and sole head writer. She has been married to the longest-running host in late-night since 2013, and won an Emmy for producing the 2024 Oscar show, the fourth time Kimmel had hosted the Academy Awards and the first in decades the broadcast had won the Variety Special Emmy.
McNearney joins me for this edition of my Deadline video series Behind the Lens to talk about all the drama going on with the show, late-night in general (“It is a scary time for late-night and a scary time for comedy,” she says), how she keeps the show on track despite all the tumult, Donald Trump’s incessant drumbeat to get her husband fired, the importance of not caving to government pressure, why political content is key to the monologue, what a typical day is like in terms of getting the show on air, her favorite JKL moments, balancing career and home life, and if Jimmy has a retirement date in mind.
Also, we discuss why the Matt Damon gag may be the longest continuing joke in TV history – and how Damon got on board for it all.
To watch our conversation and go “behind the lens”‘” with Molly McNearney, watch the video above.
Join me every Monday and Friday this season for a new episode of Behind the Lens and every Tuesday and Thursday for a new The Actor’s Side.
