Jimmy Kimmel’s Talk Show Stops Production as Writers Strike

Production on Jimmy Kimmel’s hit talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! has paused. The long-running talk show, which premiered in 2003, will move to air reruns for the foreseeable future, with this week’s live shows and the scheduled celebrity guests nixed after the Writers Guild of America officially began a strike at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, May 2.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!‘s Monday show was not impacted by the latest developments, as it was taped before the strike went into effect. The strike was confirmed after talks between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed. The WGA’s contract with the AMPTP expired at 11:59 p.m. PDT Monday night, and the guild had been fighting for increases to the compensation offered to writers and fair working conditions, as more and more in recent years, writers have suffered from reduced job opportunities and the loss of some sources of income due to an industry shift from traditional broadcast and cable programming to streaming services.In a statement shared less than an hour after talks with the studios ended, the guild confirmed, “the unanimous recommendation of the WGA Negotiating Committee, the Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and the Council of the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), acting upon the authority granted to them by their memberships, have voted unanimously to call a strike, effective 12:01 a.m., Tuesday, May 2.”

“Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal – and though your strike vote gave us the leverage to make some gains – the studios’ responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing,” the WGA added in a message sent directly to members. “We must now exert the maximum leverage possible to get a fair contract by withholding our labor,” the guild leadership added. “Members of the Negotiating Committee, Board and Council will be out with you on the picket lines.”

After Charlie Day, Padma Lakshmi, and Bebe Rexha appeared on Monday’s show, Kimmel was scheduled to welcome Dr. Phil, Gina Rodriguez and The Pixies on Tuesday, with Melissa McCarthy, Will Poulter, and Warren Zeiders scheduled for a Wednesday appearance. Ricky Gervais, Anthony Carrigan, and Smashing Pumpkins were set for later in the week. Although Kimmel did not directly address the possible strike during Monday’s show, he did allude to it when he listed the guests lined up to appear on his show for the week “unless something terrible happens.” Kimmel has not offered any further comment.

While the strike will likely have a far-reaching impact, it seems that late-night talk shows will be hit particularly hard by the strike, as one of the main issues in this year’s negotiation between the writers guild and the studios surrounds late-night shows on streaming. Currently, writers who work on “comedy variety programs made for new media” do not qualify for MBA minimums, something the WGA has been fighting for, per Deadline. Amid the strike, one showrunner told Deadline that late-night showrunners will remain in contact with another to give a unified approach to the situation.