Jimmy Kimmel has revealed that ABC originally had his friend and fellow late-night host Jon Stewart in mind to host its late-night talk show back in the early 2000s.

Appearing on the latest episode of Ted Danson ‘s Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast, Kimmel said ABC was close to signing a deal with The Daily Show host before the executives changed their mind and decided to hire him instead.

“They wanted a traditional late-night talk show in that slot,” Kimmel said, per The Daily Beast , referring to how ABC was looking to replace Bill Maher ‘s Politically Incorrect after it ended in 2002. “Jon and I have the same manager, James ‘Baby Doll’ Dixon, and James was about to close this deal for Jon to host the show.”

The comedian shared that then-ABC chairman Llo

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