'Jimmy Kimmel Live' to Air Coronavirus Anniversary Special With Pete Buttigieg

ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will mark the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic — or as the show calls it, the “one-year anniversary of our national incarceration,” with a special episode next Thursday.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live: Coronaversary Show” will take the place of a regular episode of the late-night talker on March 11 at 11:35 p.m. ET. Among the guests will be U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, returning to the show exactly a year after he guest hosted “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

That Buttigieg-hosted episode in March 2020, scheduled long before the pandemic unfolded, was notable in that it didn’t have a studio audience — only “Kimmel” staffers and Buttigieg’s entourage. And it was also the final episode for “Jimmy Kimmel Live” before production completely shut down over concerns that COVID-19 was rapidly spreading.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live” and the other late night talk shows went dark for several weeks before slowly returning with truncated, virtual editions from their hosts’ homes. “Jimmy Kimmel Live” swapped slots with “Nightline” for two weeks, and shrunk to 30 minutes until September. “Jimmy Kimmel Live” eventually returned to its studio at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, but continues to rely on staffers for a studio audience. In January, as COVID-19 rates spiked, Kimmel again moved the show to his house — but it’s been back at the El Capitan since Jan. 25.

Read more: https://www.lmtonline.com/entertainment/article/Jimmy-Kimmel-Live-to-Air-Coronavirus-16002328.php?utm_campaign=hphottopics
(Laredo Morning Times)