Everyone who works day in and day out at a job of any kind deserves a few days off here and there. We all need time to catch our breath, relax and have a bit of extra non-work time to do whatever tickles our fancy. But, for most of us, the time has long passed when we could actually have a huge hunk of time off during the summer. While those months-long vacations are a dream of childhood for your average adult, it sounds like talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has managed to return to the era of the summer vacation, and we now know why he took some time off this summer.
The host of Jimmey Kimmel Live! has been ruling the roost at his own talk show since 2003, and while that, obviously, comes with some perks that many people would not be used to, one thing that hasn't been a regular occurrence during Kimmel's tenure has been long summer breaks. This year, though, Kimmel has singed a new contract to stay with the show, and as part of that new deal he now gets his own new-fangled version of a summer break.
After his hosting stint on the Emmy Awards over the weekend, Jimmy Kimmel is now back at work on his late night show, and talked about what is was like to have his summer off during an interview with USA Today, saying:
Hey listen, I’ll tell you just how to do it. The key is to be completely replaceable and try to get somebody to do your job for free for you. That’s it; that’s the secret right there. . . . You know what, I have been enjoying it, I really have taken to the idea of not working. I’m really good at it, too, it turns out.
Jimmy Kimmel is a man with his finger on the pulse of what every American truly wants, friends: to have someone else do our work for us while we vacation and continue to collect payment for all of their hard work as though we were still doing it ourselves. Should Jimmy Kimmel be president?
As fans of Jimmy Kimmel Live! will know, the past few weeks have seen a number of celebrities take over for Kimmel to guest host the popular show while he was enjoying his newly increased 2020 free time. We've had quite the variety of guest hosts recently, with famous folk like Josh Gad, country music star Brad Paisley, EGOT winner and Chrissy Teigen's baby-daddy John Legend, pop phenom Dua Lipa, the never-aging Rob Lowe and even the baddest mofo around, Samuel L. Jackson, step up to take Kimmel's spot and help keep us entertained in the late evening hours.
If you missed seeing Jimmy Kimmel during that time, you might be wondering what he decided to do with his summer vacation. Well, you can rest assured that Kimmel didn't just hang around his backyard napping while you were waiting to see him on TV again:
My 6-year-old and I went and bought an RV, and then I loaded the whole family into it and we drove up to Idaho. . . . It was quite an adventure. It was really like an ’80s movie, but it was fun.
I, too, would have enjoyed an '80s movie-style summer vacation, Jimmy Kimmel! I mean, really, considering what this year has brought us, who wouldn't have opted for some possibly not so quiet time with the family on a long drive to...pretty much anywhere in an RV? We might have missed watching Kimmel on his show for several weeks, but at least he had some fun, right?
Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be back, with host Jimmy Kimmel, tonight on ABC, at 11:35 p.m. EST. For more on what to watch in the coming weeks, check out our guide to fall TV!
