Reruns of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will be pushed back a half-hour in the coming week as ABC seeks to give a bigger platform to “Nightline” episodes focused on the coronavirus pandemic.
ABC said Sunday that “Kimmel” repeats will shift to the 12:05 a.m. slot starting Tuesday through Friday as “Nightline” goes all-in on coverage of the latest in the coronavirus pandemic. “Kimmel” is already set to be in reruns for the next two weeks in light of the hasty shutdown of production on that show and most every other major TV and film production that was active last week.
“As the crisis continues to rapidly develop across the nation, by airing one-hour earlier, ‘Nightline’ will reach even more people with the important context, analysis and expert insight Americans want to stay informed and safe during this uncertain time,” ABC News said in announcing the shift.
For years, “Kimmel” followed “Nightline” in the midnight hour, but the programs swapped places on ABC’s late-night roster in 2013.
“Nightline” has temporarily shifted its format to focus entirely on the latest in the fast-moving story of the coronavirus crisis, which has up-ended virtually every aspect of public life in the U.S. and abroad. The turmoil took a heavy toll on U.S. equities markets last week and threatens to throw millions of Americans out of work unexpectedly in the coming weeks.
“Kimmel’s” episode roster for the week will feature a mix of encores from mid-February and from earlier this month. Broadcast and cable TV late-night series are going dark next week in recognition of the national call for aggressive social distancing efforts to keep the highly contagious virus from spreading rapidly through more communities.
“Nightline” is anchored by Juju Chang and Byron Pitts. Steven Baker is executive producer.