Jimmy Kimmel’s Staff Gave Him ‘a Much Deserved Standing Ovation’ Ahead of His Return (Exclusive)

Jimmy Kimmel‘s late-night staff gave him a warm welcome as he returned to his hosting duties following a brief suspension at ABC.

A Jimmy Kimmel Live! staffer tells PEOPLE exclusively that it was a “very emotional” day back at work today, with Kimmel’s show returning for its first new episode on Tuesday, Sept. 23, nearly a week after ABC “indefinitely” pulled it off the air before it taped on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

“We gave Jimmy a much deserved standing ovation at rehearsal,” the employee shares, adding that everyone was “very happy,” “relieved” and “excited for tonight’s show.”

The staffer also shared that Kimmel’s highly anticipated first opening monologue post-suspension isn’t fully finalized just yet, saying “that will take all day.”

ABC confirmed to PEOPLE that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be “indefinitely” pulled on Wednesday, Sept. 17, after comments Kimmel, 57, made about the late right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said in his monologue on Sept. 15 of Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old charged with aggravated murder in connection with Kirk’s death. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving. On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this.”

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Kimmel then showed clips of President Donald Trump being asked about Kirk’s death, with one reporter offering him their condolences and asking how he’s holding up, only for Trump to say, “I think very good” before turning attention to the White House’s new ballroom, currently under construction.

The cameras then cut back to Kimmel. “Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction,” the comedian said. “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, okay?”

Prior to the episode, Kimmel offered his condolences on social media to Kirk’s family.

“Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” he wrote shortly after Kirk’s death. “On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”

Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, called Kimmel’s on-air remarks “truly sick” during an interview on Benny Johnson’s podcast and said the FCC had a “strong case” to hold Disney — the parent company of ABC, the home Kimmel’s late-night show — accountable if it didn’t “take action on Kimmel.”

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said at the time. “There are calls for Kimmel to be fired. I think you could certainly see a path forward for suspension over this.”

Carr also addressed the “individual licensed stations” airing ABC content across the country, telling them “it’s time for them to step up” and take action as well. 

Nexstar, the largest local broadcast and digital media company in the U.S., and Sinclair, which boasts the nation’s largest ABC affiliate group, then condemned Kimmel’s comments and refused to air Jimmy Kimmel Live! in their markets — moves which Carr praised on X.

Nexstar recently announced plans to acquire Tegna, a rival broadcast company, for more than $6 billion, a massive deal that would further consolidate the local television landscape and put Nexstar in 80% of America’s TV-owning households, according to a press release, despite current law permitting no more than 39%. The acquisition will require final approval from the FCC, which Carr runs under President Trump’s appointment.

Additionally, Sinclair laid out a list of demands for Kimmel to meet before airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! again, including him issuing “a direct apology to the Kirk family” and making a “meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA,” Kirk’s nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college and university campuses.

ABC then put the show on an indefinite hiatus, a decision that drew celebration from President Trump — who said Kimmel was “fired for lack of talent” — and criticism from Kimmel’s Hollywood pals, industry unions and Kimmel’s fellow late-night hosts.

The network announced on Monday, Sept. 22, that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would return on Tuesday, Sept. 23, just shy of a week after it was “indefinitely” pulled.

“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,” Disney said in a statement announcing the show’s return. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.”

A late-night staffer on Kimmel’s show told PEOPLE there was “relief and joy across the board” when they learned the show was coming back. Staffers had previously told PEOPLE they were holding out hope for “some sort of peaceful resolution” with the network.

Despite ABC bringing Kimmel’s late-night show back, Sinclair and Nexstar both revealed they would continue preempting it in their local markets. Again, Carr praised the broadcast companies for standing up to their network counterpart.

Kimmel has remained tight-lipped during the saga, only returning to social media on Tuesday, Sept. 23, to share a photo of himself with the late TV legend Norman Lear. “Missing the guy today,” he captioned the post.

Lear, best recognized for creating the iconic television series All in the Family, famously sued the FCC in the ’70s and was known to be on the “enemies list” of President Richard Nixon. Lear died at the age of 101 in 2023.

Kimmel’s longtime late-night sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez also shared a post the same day celebrating the show’s return.

In a joint post with Jimmy Kimmel Live!‘s official Instagram, he wrote, “We are back full of love.”

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Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs weeknights 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC.