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Jon Stewart cracked a joke about Jimmy Kimmel's return to ABC while taking aim at the FCC's threat to the network that coincidentally -- or not -- occurred just before "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was yanked from the air.

Check out this clip from Monday's 'Daily Show' ... Jon says he's shocked Jimmy's show is returning, considering he was told the FCC's threat to ABC -- that they could "do this the easy way or the hard way" -- had nothing to do with the show's now short-lived hiatus.

Instead, he quipped, with a ton of sarcasm ... "We just randomly remove one show a week!"

9/23 8:10 AM PT -- Nexstar Media Group is joining Sinclair in continuing to preempt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely, the company said in a statement on their website.

Jimmy Kimmel is getting back on the air after a brief suspension, but not everyone will be able to see him on ABC when "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" returns Tuesday ... because a major broadcast company is holding out.

Sinclair, which owns a ton of ABC affiliates across the country, says ... "Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming."

It sounds like Jimmy could still make his eventual return to ABC affiliates under the Sinclair umbrella ... the company adds, "Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return."

James Van Der Beek made a surprise cameo at the Dawson's Creek Reunion Monday night in NYC, this after he bowed out of the event due to his ongoing health issues, including cancer.

The actor — who played Dawson Leery on the hit TV show — appeared in a pre-recorded video on a virtual screen in the Richard Roger's theater in Manhattan— and introduced the man who stepped up to replace him — Lin Manuel Miranda.

Van Der Beek said he had been looking forward to the reunion for months after fellow actor Michelle Williams put the event together. He said he was disappointed he couldn't make it to see his co-stars, such as Joshua Jackson, Katie Holmes and Williams, who played Jen Lindley on the WB show.

Jimmy Kimmel's suspension is coming to an end.

His late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" will return to ABC on Tuesday night.

The Walt Disney Company tells TMZ in a statement Monday ... "Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday."

Whoopi Goldberg set the record straight on "The View" ... saying loud and clear the show wasn't silenced when it came to talking about Jimmy Kimmel's suspension.

"Did y'all really think we weren't going to talk about Jimmy Kimmel? I mean, have you watched the show over the last 29 seasons? No one silences us," Goldberg said at the top of Monday's show, addressing the chatter around ABC's move to bench "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" last week.

Following the suspension announcement, there was speculation the daytime talk show had been muzzled after staying quiet when the news broke. Goldberg explained the show's decision to wait it out, saying, "When the news broke last week about Jimmy Kimmel's suspension, we took a breath to see if Jimmy was going to say anything about it first." She said the show did the same thing when CBS announced "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" was on the chopping block.

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John Oliver minced no words reacting to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's late-night TV show by ABC on "Last Week Tonight" ... calling ABC and Disney CEO Bob Iger a bunch of "cowards."

Check out the clip from Sunday's show -- he rails at Bob when speaking about how he believes the current administration will be remembered unfavorably in the history books ... predicting companies allowing Donald Trump and his associates steamroll them will look even worse.

He says ABC and Bob "definitely know better but still let things happen," and likens Jimmy's suspension to letting a bully take your lunch money. He explains the bully is never happy ... he will just come back hungrier for more.

Jay Leno's not too worried about Jimmy Kimmel after 'Live!' was suspended indefinitely by ABC over his comments about Charlie Kirk's murder ... telling TMZ he'll be back on air "somewhere."

Check out the clip ... he was seen out in Los Angeles over the weekend, and while he played hard to get at first ... he eventually said he stands by Jimmy and says he'll certainly find a place back on our screens at some point, "somewhere."

Jay also brushes off the backlash Jimmy's getting for comments about the man accused of killing Charlie being conservative, explaining Kimmel didn't say anything that hadn't already been said.

James Van Der Beek's serious health issues -- notably, cancer -- have caused him to drop out of Monday's much-anticipated "Dawson's Creek" reunion.

Van Der Beek -- who starred as Dawson Leery on the hit TV show -- took to Instagram Sunday and told fans he's "gutted" about missing today's big reunion, which was put together by Michelle Williams. As you know, James was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in November 2024.

In his IG post ... Van Der Beek wrote he's currently "out of commission" because he's battling two stomach viruses that have kept him "grounded at the worst possible moment.” He also said he was really looking forward to the charity event ever since Williams conceived the idea in January.

Lexi Wood is still brushing off the buzz on those Drake dating rumors ... continuing to double down on not exactly confirming anything, but definitely not denying that there ever was a connection either.

TMZ caught up with the Canadian model, and when asked point-blank about her relationship with the "Certified Lover Boy," Lexi plays coy and tells us he's a "lovely person" and she's "very lucky to know him."

This all started when Jesse Solomon -- Lexi's ex from hit reality show "Summer House" -- started the rumor back in April that Drake is allegedly one of Lexi’s exes ... though he did not clarify what “dating” meant for the pair specifically.

"Grandma Bev" the fan favorite matriarch from MTV's "Siesta Key" has died ... TMZ has learned.

Her grandson, Pauly Paul tells TMZ ... Beverly Breslyn, known to viewers as Grandma Bev, died Sunday morning in Sarasota, FL-- the town where the hit reality show was filmed. Pauly says she had been living with him for the past two years as she battled dementia.

Pauly, who was raised by Bev from the time he was a baby, says the loss is devastating and admits he’s broken. He tells us this is one of the worst days of his life. Still, he’s finding strength in honoring her legacy by changing his life and going back to church to find peace because that’s what she would want.

Olivia Rodrigo is upset by Jimmy Kimmel's suspension by ABC ... and she says it's an example of "blatant censorship and abuse of power."

The "get him back!" singer just weighed in on Disney taking Jimmy off the air for his controversial Charlie Kirk comments ... and she says she stands with the late-night host and freedom of speech.

Check out Olivia's comments -- she reposted a SAG-AFTRA statement defending Jimmy and added her thoughts in an Instagram story shared Saturday.

Bill Maher is the latest talk show host coming to Jimmy Kimmel's defense amid his show's suspension -- despite not fully agreeing with his remarks that led to ABC benching the broadcast.

Check out his speech on HBO’s "Real Time" Friday night -- Bill rallied behind his "compatriot" Jimmy, later adding ... "I am with you, I support you."

BM also brought up his own firing from ABC 24 years ago, telling Jimmy ... "If this firing goes for you the way it did for me, you’ll get 23 years on a better network." He took another swipe at ABC, calling it the "Always Be Caving" network.

This isn't funny ... Steve Martin just had to cancel 2 comedy shows with Martin Short because he caught COVID-19.

The comedian shared the news on social media Friday that their "The Dukes Of Funnytown!" tour stop at The Dome in Virginia Beach that night was canceled along with Saturday's stop at Richmond’s Allianz Amphitheater at the Riverfront.

The "Only Murders in the Building" star told fans he "can’t possibly do the shows" they deserve, adding they "will return under better circumstances.😔."

Jess Edwards -- who found forever love and ended the recent season of 'Bachelor in Paradise' engaged to Spencer Conley -- has revealed what they decided to do with the cash they unexpectedly won on the series finale.

Jess appeared on TMZ's podcast 'Previously On...' to dish out all the deets ... and she tells us they've got it all planned out.

Check out the clip ... she shares how shocked she was to even receive the check so quickly after filming ... and reveals most of the cash went toward paying off their respective debts.

We know he might be off the air for a little while ... but we still wanna see if you can guess who this late-night TV show host is!

We ran into this guy and his wife way back in 2017, when we caught him greeting a couple of fans while leaving a restaurant in L.A., and he was pretty popular -- back then, at least. You may also recognize a prolific celeb picture-collector known on the Hollywood streets ...