‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Return Sets Series Record for Regular Episode With 6.3 Million Viewers (Tuesday)

“Jimmy Kimmel Live” returned Tuesday with 6.3 million viewers, marking the show’s most-watched regularly scheduled episode, according to preliminary Nielsen Live + Same Day data.

The audience total is the third-largest in the program’s history, behind only two special Sunday broadcasts that aired directly after the 2006 Super Bowl and the 2014 Oscars. Compared with the previous season’s average of 1.4 million viewers, Tuesday’s telecast rose 343%.

Nielsen’s preliminary figure would have been higher if the episode had aired nationwide. Because Nexstar and Sinclair continued to preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on their stations after Disney lifted the show’s suspension, the program did not air in 23% of U.S. households.

Among adults 18–49, the episode delivered a 0.87 rating—up 568% from last season’s 0.13 average—and registered the best demo rating for a regularly scheduled episode since 2015.

During the broadcast, host Jimmy Kimmel addressed expectations for strong ratings, noting that during the show’s six-day hiatus, Donald Trump, Fox News anchors and other critics claimed the program gets “no ratings.” “Well, I do tonight!” Kimmel said in his monologue. “You almost have to feel sorry for [Trump]. He tried his best to cancel me. Kimmel said Trump’s efforts to sideline him had the opposite effect, drawing “millions” to the broadcast, and joked that Trump might feel compelled to release the “Epstein files” to shift attention.

Kimmel devoted much of the monologue to free speech, thanking those who cited the First Amendment during his suspension and acknowledging fellow late-night hosts. He continued: “Maybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don’t support my show and what I believe, but support my right to share those beliefs anyway. People I never would have imagined, like Ben Shapiro, Clay Travis, Candace Owens, Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul.” Kimmel added, “Even my old pal Ted Cruz, who, believe it or not, said something very beautiful on my behalf.”

“Even though I don’t agree with many of those people on most subjects, some of the things they say even make me want to throw up, it takes courage for them to speak out against this administration, and they did, and they deserve credit for it,” he continued.