Could Jimmy Kimmel be eyeing the exit ramp from late-night TV at the same time Stephen Colbert departs The Late Show? The longtime Jimmy Kimmel Live! host kept the speculation alive at Sunday night’s Creative Arts Emmys, where he picked up the trophy for Outstanding Host for a Game Show for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Backstage in the press room, Kimmel admitted he was surprised by the win, given the competition from stalwart franchises like Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. But the bigger question on reporters’ minds was how much longer Kimmel intends to remain in late night.

“I’m not prepared to answer that question,” Kimmel said. “It’s something I think about a lot. Things have changed a lot over the last few years, the last nine years. Each day is a new adventure and I kind of take them as they come.”

Kimmel has publicly backed The Late Show with Stephen Colbert—his direct rival in the Outstanding Talk Series category this year—after CBS announced it was canceling Colbert’s late-night show when his contract expires in May 2026. (Kimmel and Colbert have matching expiration dates on their contracts, in what was intended to be a power move on behalf of their shared manager, James “Babydoll” Dixon.)

Kimmel has mulled retirement for years now. In 2024, he told the Los Angeles Times, “I think this is my final contract,” though he acknowledged he’d reversed course before. This past May, he told Rolling Stone there was “no point in talking about it,” citing how earlier retirement chatter had rattled his staff.

For now, the question remains unanswered—and Kimmel seems content to keep it that way.