Jimmy Kimmel is set to return to the air Tuesday, following a politically fueled firestorm that saw his late-night program pulled from local broadcast channels and suspended by ABC.

While Nexstar and Sinclair, the companies that own many of the nation's local ABC affiliate channels, are holding the line on their decision to pull Kimmel's show, the larger network revealed Sept. 22 that after "thoughtful conversations," they planned to revive their flagship late-night program.

"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," ABC's parent company Disney said in a statement to USA TODAY Sept. 22. "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."

The move represents a relatively quick reversal for the entertainment giant, which, following news that Sinclair and Nexstar would cease carrying Kimmel, pulled the host off the air "indefinitely." The dominoes began to fall originally after Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr publicly condemned comments Kimmel made in the wake of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk's killing.

In the wake of Kimmel's suspension, the backlash was swift, with other prominent late-night hosts, comics and even conservative politicians decrying the move as a dangerous limitation on freedom of speech and a preemptive gesture of obedience by Disney to the Trump Administration.

Mark Ruffalo, Pedro Pascal slam Kimmel show pause

Disney's own stars also began to voice dissent, presenting a bind for a company that relies on big names to promote its signature franchises. Kimmel often serves as the first stop for those stars, a couch within the company's umbrella where leads from "Dancing with the Stars" or "The Bachelor" can sit to spill the latest from their seasons.

Mark Ruffalo, who stars as the Hulk in Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe, said in a Sept. 20 post on Threads that the company's stock will "go down a lot further if they cancel" Kimmel's show permanently, adding, "Disney does not want to be the ones that broke America."

"Fantastic Four: First Steps" lead Pedro Pascal, who will star in two major Disney films in 2026 ("The Mandalorian and Grogu" and Marvel's "Avengers: Doomsday"), also chimed in, writing in a Sept. 18 Instagram post that he was "standing with" Kimmel, adding "Defend #FreeSpeech Defend #DEMOCRACY."

A boycott and an ex-Disney executive add pressure

As A-listers rallied support, regular consumers also voiced distaste for the company's decision, with many pulling the plug on their Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions, fueling threats of a widespread boycott.

As pressure ramped up from other avenues, an ex-Disney CEO threw his hat in the ring, blasting the new leadership for their decision to pull Kimmel.

"Where has all the leadership gone?" Michael Eisner wrote in a post to X. "Maybe the Constitution should have said, 'Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one's political or financial self-interest.'

"By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny," he added, referring to Trump's digs against the late-night host. His Monday morning quarterbacking, while unlikely to have pushed the company over the edge, added to a chorus of powerful voices questioning the leadership of Disney to respond to its consumers' concerns.

Amid Kimmel suspension, Republicans offer rare rebuke

Even as President Trump applauded ABC's decision, pushing further to suggest the ouster of NBC late-night hosts Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon, some of his fellow Republicans sounded the alarm.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on "Meet the Press" Sept. 21: "Any attempt by the government to get involved with speech – I will fight," adding, "if you’re losing money, you can be fired. But the government’s got no business in it."

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a fellow Republican, also pushed back on Carr's seeming threats to ABC, saying on his podcast "Verdict with Ted Cruz": "That's right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going: 'Nice bar you have here – it’d be a shame if something happened to it.'"

"If the government gets in the business of saying … 'We’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don't say what we like,' that will end up bad for conservatives," Cruz said.

Kimmel represents big money for the company, which uses him as a sort of pseudo-mascot, hosting game and award shows on the network and helping to widen their reach. Kimmel has had a show on ABC since 2003. He's not just the host of one show; ABC and its parent company Disney have invested in the comedian as one of the faces of the brand, down to Kimmel literally representing them at presentations to advertisers and selling their content.

He has hosted the Oscars on ABC four times − only Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal and Bob Hope have had that gig for more go-rounds. He is also the host of ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and has created "Live in Front of a Studio Audience" for the network, a series of specials recreating classic episodes of television from shows such as "The Jeffersons" and "All in the Family." "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" also promoted numerous network shows over the years.

Contributing: Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jimmy Kimmel's road back to air, after Charlie Kirk comments and Disney boycott

Reporting by Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect