ABC’s decision to reinstate Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, just six days after pulling the late night show, has fueled international debate over free speech, media independence and the outsize role American talk show hosts play in political life. What it hasn’t done, outside the U.S., is deliver many laughs.

In America, late night has long been more than entertainment. From Johnny Carson and David Letterman to Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Kimmel, hosts have used their monologues — protected by the First Amendment and broadcast to millions — to shape the political agenda. Nowhere else has that model taken root.

ABC’s decision to reinstate Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, just six days after pulling the late night show, has fueled international debate over free speech, medi

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