Happiness is plinking at Bill Maher's picture on the back of a milk carton.
Posted on 05/13/2002 11:44:35 PM PDT by Timesink
Jimmy Kimmel Lands Latenight Yak Slot at ABC
Tue May 14, 1:16 AM ET
By Josef Adalian
NEW YORK (Variety) - ABC has inked comic Jimmy Kimmel ("The Man Show") to host a new post-"Nightline" latenight talker -- effectively killing the Bill Maher-hosted "Politically Incorrect."
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"Nightline" anchor Ted Koppel is also expected to appear onstage at the New Amsterdam Theater as ABC execs attempt to put behind them the controversy that erupted from the network's failed effort to replace the veteran newsman with CBS mainstay David Letterman (news - Y! TV).
Details of Kimmel's as-yet untitled talker are still sketchy, though it's expected to be heavy on comedy with some celeb guests. Jackhole Industries, the production banner Kimmel runs with "Man Show" co-host Adam Carolla and Daniel Kellison, will likely be involved.
Kimmel's hiring by ABC will mark the end of "The Man Show," the testosterone-soaked Comedy Central half-hour he hosts. It will continue to air original episodes for several more months, with Kimmel completing production on a final cycle of 24 episodes.
The first of those 24 will bow in August, with the remaining 14 slated to air during the first part of 2003. That means Kimmel will be seen on both ABC and Comedy Central for several months. Overall, 100 episodes of "Man Show" will have been produced since the skein's 1999 launch.
Kimmel's voice will also be heard on the upcoming Comedy Central animated laffer "Crank Yankers."
The decision to dump Maher is no surprise. A few weeks after ABC lost its bid for Letterman, Disney executives went to great lengths to publicize their support of Koppel and "Nightline." By contrast, executives remained mum whenever reporters asked about Maher and "PI."
Ratings for "PI" have been solid but never spectacular. And Maher lost some advertiser support after the Bush White House misinterpreted a remark Maher made about the U.S. military in the aftermath of Sept. 11.
Maher's contract expires in the fall. It's unclear when the final "PI" will air or how ABC may fill any gap between the demise of "PI" and the premiere of Kimmel's new series.
ABC had no comment on Tuesday's expected announcement. Representatives for "PI" producer Brad Gray Television didn't return calls.
He doesn't any more. He died at the end of the first season.
Can this reporter be any more biased? The White House misinterpreted nothing. Maher's comment was quite clear. He was attacking the military and Bush. He just forgot that Clinton, his hero, was the one who gave those orders he called "cowardly".
Happiness is plinking at Bill Maher's picture on the back of a milk carton.
Now that's entertainment. In the footsteps of Benny Hill.
I love the tribute piece they did for Benny, complete with Yakkety Sax and the obligatory chase scene at the end.
Everyone who heard the quote interpreted it correctly, and it was every bit as slanderous and dispicable as the reaction to it merited. Maher sunk his own career with that comment and his demise couldn't be a more fitting consequence.
Yeah right, VARIETY, just like I and several million other patriotic Americans misinterpreted it. Calling us 'the cowards' because we didn't pilot our planes headfirst into Kabul. What a leftist 'RAG'. No wonder Hollyweird is so 'out of touch' with normal TV viewers. They don't have any.
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