Jimmy Kimmel Threatens to Shake Up TV Landscape With Career Pivot After Late-Night Run

Jimmy Kimmel‘s planned pivot to hosting game shows full-time could leave the genre’s other big names feeling threatened, predicts an insider.

As the insider explains, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host has already nabbed back-to-back Emmy wins for his emceeing on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but he doesn’t want to limit himself to just that series going forward.

“Once his late-night run eventually winds down, Jimmy will be available to the highest bidder,” the insider tells Globe. “Sony and CBS both have multiple game show franchises at their disposal, and Jimmy has proven he can carry a daily series — not just the special-event schedule that Millionaire currently operates under.”

At the 2026 Emmy Awards, the 58-year-old beat out Celebrity Family Feud‘s Steve Harvey, Jeopardy!‘s Ken Jennings, Pop Culture Jeopardy!‘s Colin Jost and Match Game‘s Martin Short to claim the top game-show hosting prize.

Other presenters currently holding court over popular contest series include Wheel of Fortune‘s Ryan Seacrest and The Price Is Right‘s Drew Carey.

“Jimmy’s certainly not married to the idea of being an ABC employee for the rest of his professional life,” adds the insider. “He would much rather create a new game show format of his own, or take a crack at another company’s game show franchise.”

His permanent jump to quiz shows may get delayed, though: Globe revealed on Wednesday, September 9, that ABC is looking to extend Kimmel’s talk show contract despite recent chatter saying the Emmy-winning series would end after its current season.

Still, “Jimmy is a smart guy who can see the writing on the wall for the entire late-night talk genre,” says the insider. “And game shows seem to be in his blood.”