Is Who Wants to Be a Millionaire canceled? Update after Jimmy Kimmel controversy

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ABC has temporarily stopped airing Jimmy Kimmel Live!, leading to speculation about the future of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? revival as its fourth season comes to a close.

So, I was watching Kimmel’s show the other night, and he made some jokes about how people were reacting to the news about Charlie Kirk. Honestly, it didn’t seem *that* bad to me, but apparently, the head of the FCC, Brendan Carr, was super upset about it. He even hinted that ABC could lose the right to broadcast if they kept stuff like that up. It’s kinda crazy how seriously he took it!

Nexstar Media Group, while waiting for the government to approve a $6.2 billion deal, said its local ABC stations would stop showing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for now. ABC quickly decided to do the same.

The public has strongly reacted to the news, with many celebrities – including Pedro Pascal and Barack Obama – voicing their support for Jimmy Kimmel. While the future of his talk show is uncertain, it’s unclear if his hosting job on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is also at risk.

Is Who Wants to Be a Millionaire canceled?

As of today, there’s no reliable evidence that *Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?* is being canceled. ABC hasn’t announced any plans to stop the show, and the Season 4 finale is still expected to air.

If you’re unfamiliar with the show, ABC brought back the popular series in 2020 to celebrate its 20th anniversary, with Jimmy Kimmel as the new host. The show has continued for three more seasons, and Season 4 premiered on July 23, 2025.

The newest season has eight episodes, released every Wednesday. However, there were no new episodes on September 10th and 17th due to a brief pause in releases.

The final episode, already completed, will now premiere on Thursday, September 25, 2025, at 8pm Eastern Time / 7pm Central Time.

According to ABC, they currently have no plans to remove “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” which is hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. However, that could change if Brendan Carr from the FCC sees this and requests its removal.

— Matthew Belloni (@MattBelloni) September 17, 2025

People are wondering if the show will actually premiere because Jimmy Kimmel, its host, recently had his talk show cancelled by the same network.

If ABC or its related companies object to Jimmy Kimmel hosting any further shows, the network could cancel the season finale. However, because the show airs during popular viewing hours, was recently renewed, and the finale is already planned, it’s more probable that ABC will allow Season 4 to conclude as scheduled.

According to Puck News reporter Matthew Belloni, a source at ABC says there are currently no plans to remove *Who Wants to Be a Millionaire*, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel-unless FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr sees a particular tweet and requests its removal.

Will Jimmy Kimmel Live return in the future?

It’s currently uncertain what will happen, but Bloomberg reports that Disney executives, who own ABC, are planning to talk with Jimmy Kimmel about the future of his talk show.

When his show was canceled, there was a massive public reaction. Many people immediately canceled their subscriptions to Hulu and Disney Plus, and calls to boycott ABC quickly spread online.

Several well-known people spoke out against the decision, including actor Pedro Pascal, who posted a picture with Jimmy Kimmel and expressed support for both free speech and democracy using the hashtags #FreeSpeech and #DEMOCRACY.

Okay, so Obama basically said the government’s trying to strong-arm people, and that’s *exactly* what the First Amendment is there to stop. He thinks media companies need to push back and not just roll over, which, honestly, I totally agree with. It’s like, let people speak their minds, right? That’s the whole point.

Several late-night talk show hosts reacted to the news on Thursday, September 18th. Jimmy Fallon, for example, expressed his surprise, saying the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel by ABC, following pressure from the Federal Communications Commission, left everyone wondering, ‘What the heck?’

Stephen Colbert showed solidarity with Jimmy Kimmel on his show, calling the situation “blatant censorship.” Seth Meyers agreed, saying it was a critical moment for democracy and that everyone needs to defend free speech.

Jon Stewart unexpectedly returned to host The Daily Show on Thursday night. He started with jokes about the FCC, Donald Trump, and Jimmy Kimmel’s recent suspension, then had a serious conversation with Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa about the importance of fighting against authoritarianism by sharing the truth.

Despite the recent criticism, sources at Bloomberg say Disney is interested in continuing Jimmy Kimmel’s show, but only if they can reach an agreement that works for both Kimmel and those who have voiced concerns.

The two sides were scheduled to meet on Thursday, but it’s still unclear if the meeting actually happened or what the result was.

According to the report, producers are exploring options to resume production of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with a potential return date as early as September 22nd.

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2025-09-19 15:19