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Jimmy Kimmel has finally spoken out after his late-night show's suspension ... and hours before he's set to return to air.

Check out his post on Instagram... it's a photo of him posing with Norman Lear , and he captioned it with a simple, "Missing this guy today."

Why is he missing Norman, you may ask? Well ... Norman was a huge proponent of the First Amendment and most known for his comedy series, "All in the Family," which was the first sitcom to touch on political and often controversial topics.

The show also infamously landed Norman on Richard Nixon ’s "enemies list."

Furthermore, Norman's show "Maude" got him labeled as an enemy to the traditional American family due to a 1972 episode that showed a woman deciding to get an abortion. Getty

The screenwriter and

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