Jimmy Kimmel may be coming back to TV after his talk show's shocking suspension, but his return isn't being widely embraced.

Following the news that Kimmel's late-night talk show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", would resume production on Tuesday, Sept. 23, after ABC suspended the long-running telecast over Kimmel's comments on the late political activist Charlie Kirk, Nexstar Media Group, Inc. announced that it will still not be airing the show on its ABC affiliate stations.

"We made a decision last week to preempt 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' following what ABC referred to as Mr. Kimmel's 'ill-timed and insensitive' comments at a critical time in our national discourse," the company said in a Tuesday press release. "We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve."

While Nexstar plans on maintaining the suspension of Kimmel's show, the company noted that the program will be available to viewers nationwide across "multiple Disney-owned streaming products." The affected ABC stations will instead feature "local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets."

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for ABC and Kimmel for comment.

Kimmel's remarks on the death of Kirk, who was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, earned criticism from Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Carr described the controversy as a "very, very serious issue" for The Walt Disney Company, the parent organization of ABC.

Following Carr's comments, Nexstar said it would stop airing the show on its 32 ABC affiliates. "Mr. Kimmel's comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse," said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar's broadcasting division.

Similarly, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced in a statement to USA TODAY on Monday, Sept. 22, that it will preempt Kimmel's show on its ABC affiliates beginning Tuesday night and replace it with other news programming.

Why was Jimmy Kimmel's show suspended?

Kimmel, who has hosted ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" for over 20 years, was sidelined by the network on Sept. 17 after his show was placed on an indefinite hiatus over comments he made during his Sept. 15 monologue.

The Emmy-winning comedian and television personality said the following: "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.

"In between the finger-pointing, there was, uh, 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," the host added.

FCC chairman Carr revealed during a subsequent appearance on YouTube commentator Benny Johnson's show on Sept. 17 that there were "calls for Kimmel to be fired."

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Carr said. "Disney needs to see some change here, but the individual licensed stations that are taking their content, it's time for them to step up and say this, you know, garbage to the extent that that's what comes down the pipe in the future isn't something that we think serves the needs of our local communities."

Following Carr's comments, Nexstar, Sinclair and ABC announced they were pulling the host's show off the air.

Disney announces 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' will return after suspension

In an about-face, The Walt Disney Company announced on Monday, Sept. 22, that "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" would return to the airwaves after "having thoughtful conversations" with Kimmel.

Still, public scrutiny will likely continue over what led ABC to put a pause on Kimmel's show following pressure from FCC chairman Carr.

"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 the statement to USA TODAY. "It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive."

Contributing: Bryan Alexander and Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nexstar, Sinclair to continue Jimmy Kimmel show suspension on some ABC stations despite return

Reporting by Edward Segarra, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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