Jimmy Kimmel Set To Miss Even More Late Night Episodes After Recent Absences

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Jimmy Kimmel and his late-night show have been in the headlines lately, first because of a temporary suspension from ABC, and now due to much more somber news. Kimmel shared the heartbreaking news of the passing of his bandleader and friend, Cleto Escobedo III, during his show on November 12th, and announced that the rest of the week’s episodes would be cancelled in light of the loss.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! Will Be Off For The Rest Of The Week

Production on new episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been paused through Friday following several unexpected absences. The show re-aired an older episode on November 7th due to what were initially described as personal reasons. Reports now suggest this was connected to the declining health of a friend of Kimmel’s. During the show, Kimmel shared that his friend had been hospitalized at UCLA Medical Center before passing away, though the cause of death remains unknown.

Beyond his usual show segments, Jimmy Kimmel paid tribute to a friend he’d known since childhood – they grew up next door to each other. They remained close friends as they pursued different careers: Escobedo became a saxophonist, and Kimmel went into broadcasting. When Kimmel got the opportunity to host Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he immediately asked Escobedo to be the show’s bandleader.

Jimmy Kimmel Explained Why They Didn’t Axe Tuesday Night’s Episode As Well

Jimmy Kimmel explained that Escobedo was a huge fan of Eddie Murphy, and that’s why he was eager to move forward with the episode. Murphy was appearing to promote his new Netflix documentary, Being Eddie. You can watch the entire segment below.

The show is delaying new episodes following a week where several broadcasts were unexpectedly cancelled. This happened less than two months after Jimmy Kimmel spoke about the passing of Charlie Kirk on the show. Previously, Kimmel was briefly suspended and some stations refused to air the program, but his return led to the show’s best ratings in years.

Viewers will be sad to hear there won’t be any new episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week, but they’ll understand why. Many fans have also been watching Cleto Escobedo, a longtime member of the show, for years, and his absence will definitely be felt.

It’s understandable that everyone involved with Jimmy Kimmel Live needs time to grieve the loss of a long-time colleague. The show is scheduled to resume broadcasting on Monday.

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2025-11-12 18:40