• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, Today

Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension is over -- but how free will Jimmy’s speech be?

When the news broke on Monday that ABC was restoring his show and his parking space, the stories all said the move came after intensive discussions with the wayward late-night comedian, whose remarks last week put ABC and Disney in the crosshairs of Trump’s FCC.

What did they discuss? One issue had to be how Kimmel would handle the comedy of the Trump presidency going forward.

Specifically, what will Kimmel say Tuesday night when he returns? Will he issue a predictable apology? And if so, to whom will it be addressed? President Trump? Charlie Kirk’s family? MAGA nation, which he accused of being involved in the Kirk murder?

It is doubtful he will apologize to Trump and his MAGA followers. Making that sound sincere would be impossible. 

He is a lot more likely to acknowledge the Kirk family and perhaps add some words condemning political violence. He might also humbly thank Disney for allowing him to return.

Unless he puts his foot in his mouth again, Kimmel can now have the opportunity to complete the current season, which may be his last anyway.

His contract expires next May and in an interview with The Los Angeles Times last year, he hinted -- as he has done many times before -- that the contract might be his last. 

Kimmel, 57, has been doing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” since 2003, making him today’s longest-running late-night star.

The fact is that the Kimmel show is in decline. This year, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is reportedly averaging 1.6 million viewers per show. One online source says the figure represents a 37% decline over 10 years, since 2015.

If that is the case, then the Kimmel show is no different from the other late-night shows. It should go without saying, but the time period is not what it used to be, either in viewership or cultural influence.

When CBS announced in July that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” would be discontinued next May, the company cited financial reasons. 

The announcement went out of its way to say there was no other reason -- a veiled reference to pressure from the Trump administration.

Commentators believed the latter reason more than the former. Pressure from Trump may have played a role, but why then would CBS keep Colbert around for another year, and permit him to continuing to attack Trump every night?

Kimmel may have also been on the way out for financial reasons. ABC might not have wanted to renew his contract in the first place.

It is likely that “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is in the same financial bind as “The Late Show.” Maybe these old-style late-night shows are dinosaurs on the way to extinction.

Perhaps at some point during the season, Kimmel and ABC will issue a joint announcement that this season will his last.

That will set up a situation in which ABC and CBS would bow out of late-night at the same time in the same month next May. And then Kimmel can exit with dignity.