Jimmy Kimmel: The Day After

Jimmy Kimmel returned on Tuesday night after being suspended because Disney forgot how deftly Kimmel can handle thorny situations (see, e.g., the monologue he delivered upon his return). The ratings were good. Very good. In fact, they were the best overnight ratings of Kimmel’s tenure ever, with 6.26 million (and that’s before all the other millions of viewers who watched the show in non-traditional ways are factored in). He managed to do so, even though affiliates are still not carrying the show in approximately 20 percent of the country.

He did even better on social media. His monologue racked up over 26 million views (as of last night), including 19 million views on YouTube. That was also his most-watched video ever on YouTube, besting a video from five years ago that went viral for us when he pranked his staff with a wax statue of himself (a video I laughed at so hard I wept).

And I’m sure that ABC bragged about those numbers to everyone who would listen, right? No? No boasting at all? Huh.

Disney is now facing new demands over the suspension from, of all people, the shareholders. They want to know why the board made the decision the way it did, because the decision cost the company $4 billion in market value last week. Yikes. They are claiming that the board may have placed “improper political or affiliate considerations above the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.”

Stephen Colbert was “proud of him,” as well, telling his audience last night that he was “so proud to know that man. Jimmy spoke beautifully about free speech and unity. He made great jokes. Showed his deep emotions. Got huge ratings. It did so well that Disney announced that next summer they’re releasing Guillermo & Stitch.”

On night two, Kimmel did not hold back, either, skewering the President for the Truth Social post he made the night before, threatening ABC for allowing Kimmel back on the air. Trump often mocks Kimmel for “bad ratings,” but Kimmel turned that back on him, showing the results from several polls that currently show Trump’s historically low approval ratings, and mocking him for “escalator-gate” (seriously, how is that even a thing?). He also compared Trump to a bad ’80s movie villain and relished reminding everyone that Biff from Back to the Future is based on Trump. “I don’t know about you, but I’m with Marty McFly.”

Last night’s monologue is already up over 3.2 million views on YouTube. Late night may be dying, but it appears as though the President has at least halted the bleeding by making Jimmy Kimmel, of all people, more relevant than he’s been in years.

Also, quick shout-out to TVTattle, the best newsletter in the business, where Norman Weiss compiles the best television commentary and news of the day, which makes round-up posts like these easier to put together. Weiss has been doing this for years and years, and every writer here still gets a thrill to see one of our pieces land in the newsletter.