‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Opens 2026-27 Season as Late Night’s No. 1 Show

“Jimmy Kimmel Live” won broadcast premiere week in late night for the 2026-2027 TV season, finishing first in both total viewers and adults 18-49 for the week of Sept. 21.

The ABC show averaged 2.29 million viewers and a 0.21 rating in adults 18-49, according to live+same day big data plus panel ratings. During the 11:35 p.m. hour, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” outdrew NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” which averaged 1.3 million viewers, and CBS’ “Comics Unleashed,” which drew 704,000 viewers in its first half hour and 521,000 in its second.

Premiere week marked the second consecutive year that “Jimmy Kimmel Live” opened the TV season as the No. 1 late-night show in both total viewers and the 18-49 demo. In the key advertising demographic, the show has now ranked No. 1 during premiere week for five straight years.

The week’s lineup leaned on film and comedy talent. Monday brought Woody Harrelson, promoting “Brothers,” Sam Richardson of “Matchbox The Movie” and musical guest Greta Van Fleet. Tuesday featured Jamie Foxx, whose special “Jamie Foxx: Take Care of Yourself” is incoming, and Ke Huy Quan with “Never Say Die.” Wednesday’s show paired musician Brandi Carlile, behind “Returning To Myself (Sad Gay Version),” with John Wilson, author of “The History of Concrete.” Thursday closed the week with Ben Affleck (“Animals”) and Mo Amer, whose “Mo Amer One Night Only at Radio City” is forthcoming. Sara Niemietz sat in with The Cletones throughout the week.

The premiere-week numbers slipped slightly from the previous week of Sept. 14, the final week of the 2025-2026 season — a three-night week that featured Stephen Colbert among its guests. “Jimmy Kimmel Live” still led late night that week with 2.34 million total viewers and a 0.22 rating in adults 18-49.

The full 2025-2026 season cemented the show’s standing. “Jimmy Kimmel Live” averaged 2 million total viewers for the season, its most-watched campaign in eight years, dating to 2017-2018. In adults 18-49, it averaged a 0.18 rating, good for No. 1 across late night and the show’s best performance in that demo in four years, since 2021-2022.

The show is now building on that momentum with a week of episodes broadcast from Brooklyn, starting Monday. The slate opens with Pete Davidson (“The Pete Davidson Show,” “How To Rob A Bank”), New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and musical guest TV on the Radio. Tuesday follows with Howard Stern, Amy Schumer and Tom Morello. Wednesday brings Billy Crystal (“860”), Mahershala Ali (“Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother”) and De La Soul. Thursday features John Oliver, Seth Meyers and Robby Hoffman (“Robby Hoffman: Wake Up”). Friday closes the Brooklyn run with Paul McCartney, whose book “The Boys of Dungeon Lane” is on the way, Sen. Bernie Sanders and musical guest Goose.

With a McCartney appearance capping the Brooklyn residency, the question for competitors is how much ground Fallon and CBS can recover as the season settles into its regular rhythm.