While Disney did not say as of Thursday whether “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is canceled, instead of being “indefinitely” pulled off the air, the economic ripple effects will likely be felt across Los Angeles, a city that’s trying to give CPR to the TV and film industry following the COVID-19 pandemics and strikes.
Industry observers predict that everyone from production assistants to staff writers to people who work the stage will be impacted.
“This is just another hit for Los Angeles,” said Patrick Caligiuri who tracks runaway production in Hollywood via his Instagram page.
While the core staff of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” may have a couple of dozen people, there are likely dozens, if not hundreds, more who work on the show on both a full- and part-time basis. The number of people being impacted by the suspension of the show would be far bigger once vendors and merchants outside the studio and facility on Hollywood Boulevard are factored in.
“Caterers. It affects everybody from dry cleaning – all the businesses that are actually associated with the show,” he said.
Caligiuri has been sounding the alarm about runaway production in Hollywood for years with major sound stages going silent for months at a time, forcing some workers to move away or get out of the business altogether.
After James Corden’s late night talk show on CBS closed down a couple of years ago, Kimmel’s program was the only one still produced here in Los Angeles.
A glimmer of hope is that Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and other comedians or late night hosts could reemerge on non-linear platforms. Kimmel’s YouTube channel already boasts more than 20 million subscribers.
“If it’s not on Google or YouTube, you can create your own website on the internet,” Caligiuri said.
Once a show moves from legacy media to multimedia platforms, its scale tends to become smaller, requiring less staff.
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
