Would Jimmy Kimmel Consider Replacing Letterman on The Late Show?

With Jay Leno out of the late night game, that leaves two members of the “old guard” in play: David Letterman and Arsenio Hall. Letterman recently broke Johnny Carson‘s record to become the longest-running late night host in the history of the business, but his contract with CBS is over soon, and of course there are rumors flying around about succession. One possible candidate is Jimmy Kimmel, whose ABC late night show is a direct rival of Letterman’s. Would he ever consider taking over, should the time come?

Well, in an interview with TV Guide Magazine, Kimmel says he would definitely consider jumping ship to take over after Letterman leaves.

“I’d definitely consider it,” the ABC late-night host told TV Guide Magazine… “I am loyal to ABC and grateful to them for giving me a shot. I was a guy from The Man Show when they put me on. I’m not looking to flee. But just getting a call from Dave would be big for me. So it’s definitely something I would listen to.”

Kimmel also gave Jimmy Fallon some kind words for how he’s been handling his Tonight Show run so far, and shot down the idea there’s any kind of fierce competition for guests between late night shows.

[photo via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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