Jimmy Kimmel brought his traditional scorched earth comedy to ABC’s upfront presentation in New York on Tuesday.
The late-night host took plenty of shots at his own network and its executives, while also spreading the love around to other broadcasters and some of TV’s biggest names. Kimmel need not worry about getting fired, though, considering he just signed a three-year contract extension with ABC.
Here are 10 of Kimmel’s best jokes from the presentation.
Karey Burke/Channing Dungey
Kimmel took aim at the fact that ABC Entertainment head Channing Dungey departed the network for Netflix, with Freeform executive Karey Burke stepping in to fill the gap.
“Privately, [Burke] asked me to make it clear to you the shows you’re seeing are not her fault,” Kimmel said. “I can’t believe Channing left us for Netflix. Who does she think she is, our viewers?” Kimmel also said he would borrow a Yiddish phrase to describe Dungey: “Such a Shonda.”
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Felicity Huffman
Kimmel said he had been with ABC so long that he rememebered when shows like “Lost,” “Alias,” and “Desperate Housewives” were previewed. “When Felicity Huffman only played a scheming suburban mom,” he said.
“The Bachelor” Franchise
“Like the genital herpes it thrives on, ‘The Bachelor’ will never go away,” Kimmel said. He then brought up the fact the last season of the reality dating show cast their first virgin Bachelor in Colton Underwood. Kimmel said next season they were going in a different direction. “We got ourselves real life truck stop prostitute,” he said.
Constance Wu
There was no doubt Kimmel would take a shot at “Fresh Off the Boat” star Constance Wu and her displeasure at the show’s renewal. “Only on ABC is getting your show picked up the worst thing that can happen to you,” he said.
“Mixed-ish”
Kimmel said that the “Black-ish” prequel should have tested out some other names before going with its current moniker, joking when you say “Mixed-ish” five times fast it “sounds like an old Polish woman clearing her throat.”
“Modern Family”
Kimmel next paid tribute to the upcoming final season of the long-running and critically-acclaimed ABC sitcom. “‘Modern Family’ was the rarest of ABC shows- – a hit,” he said.
CBS
Thankfully for ABC, Kimmel turned his attention to their rival broadcast networks, starting with ABC. “Remember last year when you guys gave Les Moonves a standing ovation?” he said. “That was funny. How is it possible the network whose logo is literally an eye did not see that coming?
Fox
Next up was Fox, with Kimmel going after the fact that Terry Bradshaw identified “Masked Singer” judge Ken Jeong — an American citizen of South Korean descent — as “the little short guy from Japan.”
“Was that some kind of concussion awareness PSA?” Kimmel said. “Poor Fox, they have nothing left. Fox is the network equivalent of a divorced dad’s refrigerator.”
NBC
“NBC has the Olympics. Did they mention that?” Kimmel said, lambasting the network for riding the Games to the number one spot among broadcasters. He also mentioned the three-season renewal for hit drama “This Is Us,” “or as Constance Wu would call it, a death sentence.”
Gen Z
Kimmel teased the advertisers by telling them, “We know exactly what Gen Z wants. Unfortunately, it’s Netflix.”
“By the end of the year 34% of homes won’t have ad based TV,” he continued. He then told attendees to check under their seats for a “cyanide capsule. Wash it down with some ‘Whiskey Cavalier.’”