Jimmy Kimmel became visibly emotional as he thanked his entire production team and viewers on the 20th anniversary of his US talk show.
The comedian and presenter said he did not know what he “did to deserve” his success, as he looked back on two decades of live shows and guests.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was first broadcast on January 26 2003 and featured a lineup of Snoop Dogg and George Clooney, as well as music from Coldplay.
To mark the milestone event, Kimmel hosted the same guests, later getting onstage to play with Chris Martin and the band.
20 years ago @JimmyKimmelLive premiered on ABC. Thanks to those who’ve been with us from the start and those who joined along the way. #KIMMELx20 https://t.co/4xTJotXT37
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) January 27, 2023
In his opening monologue, Kimmel read out some of the comically bad reviews the show had received after the show first aired.
He then recalled how when the show started there had been “no iPhones, no YouTube… no Uber, no Twitter, no Wifi, no Netflix, no Google”.
“Very few people expected us to make it this far, but we did for two reasons,” he said, joking: “I made a great deal with the devil, my soul is gonna roast.”
He then added that the key to the show’s success had been the “many great people” behind it, before going on to thank multiple members of the programme’s team individually.
It’s our 20th anniversary! @JimmyKimmelLive premiered January 26th 2003 – tonight we recreate our first episode with original guests #GeorgeClooney & @SnoopDogg. 10|9c on ABC. #KIMMELx20 pic.twitter.com/dO3VqSgtFN
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) January 27, 2023
He also showed the audience a stack of paper, a collection of “one sheets” featuring the details of every individual show – totalling 3588.
Kimmel also gave a special shout out to his show sidekick and friend Guillermo, who has appeared on the programme for many years, again becoming emotional.
“It takes a lot of people to make something this dumb, and we’ve covered a lot of dumb stuff over the past 20 years,” he said.
“(And) I have been allowed a platform to speak out about issues that matter to me like health care and sensible gun laws.”
Thanks to @Coldplay for coming back 20 years later & and letting me join the band #KIMMELx20 pic.twitter.com/L7hm25Zum2
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) January 27, 2023
Addressing the audience directly, he added: “Thank you to those who stuck with us from the beginning and for those who joined along the way.
“Thank you for your patience. I don’t know what I did to deserve it but I appreciate it.
“I don’t take this for granted, and I promise that as long as I am here, you will never have to see Matt Damon’s stupid face on the show.”
It comes just less than two months before Kimmel is due to host the 95th Academy Awards on March 12.