Kimmel Shares Big News, Followed by Surprise Guest

Late-night host is taking summer off to spend time with family; Matt Damon is perturbed
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 19, 2020 8:40 AM CDT

If you're a Jimmy Kimmel fan who tuned in to his show last night, you'll be glad you did, as it was his final one for a while. "Tonight is my last new show for the summer," he said in a surprise announcement, per People. "I've been doing this job for almost 18 years, I've done 3,130 shows. And there's nothing wrong—my family is healthy, I'm healthy—I just need a couple of months off." What he'll be doing during his TV break: spending "even more time with my family." The host announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live will go on hiatus for two weeks, then resume on July 6 with "a cavalcade of very kind and capable people [who] will be filling in" for him. None of those guest hosts have been announced yet.

And then came yet another surprise. Right as he made that last remark, a door opened behind him, showing a face-masked, bathrobe-wearing "houseguest," who, once the mask came down, was revealed to be Matt Damon. "I was telling the audience that I'm gonna be off this summer," Kimmel informed Damon. "What does that mean, off?" Damon asked. "What am I gonna do?" Watch what ensued next. Variety notes Kimmel also took time off to be with family in 2017, after his now-3-year-old son, Billy, was born with a rare congenital heart defect. Kimmel and his wife, Molly McNearney, also have a 5-year-old daughter, Jane, and Kimmel has two adult children in their 20s, Katie and Kevin, from a previous marriage. (More Jimmy Kimmel stories.)

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