‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ returned to air on Sept. 23 after it was put on an indefinite hiatus following the host’s recent remarks about the death of Charlie Kirk

Stephen Colbert is thrilled that his fellow late-night talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel, has returned to the air following a brief suspension of his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

During the Wednesday, Sept. 24, episode of CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — which was canceled in July after 10 seasons — its host, 61, shared that he was “in a good mood,” per a clip shared on Instagram, which had the words “Free speech prevails” written over it at the start.

“Last night our friend Jimmy Kimmel returned to television, just so proud of him! So proud to know that man,” Colbert told viewers following Jimmy Kimmel Live!‘s return on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

“Jimmy spoke beautifully about free speech and unity, he made great jokes, showed his deep emotions, got huge ratings,” he added.Colbert joked that the return did so well that next summer, Disney has announced that its releasing the live-action version of Guillermo & Stitch, referencing Kimmel’s sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez and the movie Lilo & Stitch.

The comedian and recent Emmy winner also mentioned how well the YouTube clip of Kimmel’s monologue — where he delivered a speech that called out President Donald Trump and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over seemingly threatening comments — did, stating at the time that it was on track to break Kimmel’s personal YouTube record with 12 million views in 12 hours. The clip has now been watched over 19 million times.

Colbert proceeded to continuously poke fun at the video only being 5 billion views behind the viral “El Chombo” clip of the dancing green alien by Dame Tu Cosita feat. Cutty Ranks.

Stephen Colbert on ‘The Late Show’.Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty

The comments come after Disney announced on Monday, Sept. 22, that it would return Jimmy Kimmel Live! to air on Tuesday, Sept. 23 — just shy of a week after it had put the show on an indefinite hiatus on Sept. 17 following the host’s recent remarks about the death of late right-wing political commentator, Charlie Kirk.

In a statement on Monday, Disney, who owns ABC, said, “Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country.”

“It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” the statement concluded.

Kimmel’s return episode opened with a montage of news clips featuring journalists and commentators discussing Kimmel’s suspension and subsequent return. The clip then cut to showing Kimmel and his sidekick, Guillermo, dressed in silly costumes, acknowledging that they needed to change for the big show.

The 57-year-old then took the stage to a packed studio audience, who erupted into cheers as they gave him a standing ovation. The comedian thanked fans before jokingly acknowledging the suspension, saying, “Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted.”

Kimmel thanked everyone who checked in on him following his suspension during his speech, as well as his “fellow late-night talk show hosts” for their support, including “my friend” Colbert, who’s “found himself in this predicament,”

Jimmy Kimmel returns to air on Sept. 23, 2025.Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty

After the news of Kimmel’s show being pulled emerged last week, Colbert said during a Q&A before the taping of his Sept. 18 show, per the New York Post, “I’ll say this for my network. They wouldn’t have done this. Now regardless of what you think, that has already been done and how that looks, this is weak. This is blatant censorship.”

“With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch,” Colbert said, adding per CNBC, “Jimmy, I stand with you and your staff 100 percent.”