Jimmy Kimmel shares first post after suspension, Norman Lear photo

Jimmy Kimmel is back on social media after his late-night talk show was briefly suspended.

Just hours before “Jinmy Kimmel Live”! comes back on air on Tuesday night, Kimmel, 57, returned to Instagram and shared a photo with late TV legend Norman Lear.

“Missing this guy today,” Kimmel captioned the picture.

Lear died at age 101 in Dec. 2023.

The TV icon created the groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family” which aired 1971 to 1979 and covered social and political topics. That landed Lear on President Richard Nixon’s “enemies” list at the time.

“I think I just got lucky,” Lear told Democracy Now!” in 2016 of being on Nixon’s list. “Well, he’s on tape, you know, I think we used the tape in the ‘American Masters’ documentary, where he is talking about it with [H.R.] Halderman in his office, he’s talking about ‘that show that makes fun of a good man.’ Those were his words.”

“And he was talking about Archie Bunker [Carroll O’Connor’s character in “All in the Family”] . And he was talking about — that we were lauding homosexuality and homosexuality brought down the Greek empire… It was Nixon at his Trump-ish.”

Lear and Kimmel had a working relationship when they teamed up to make “Live in Front of a Studio Audience,” which featured live recreations of sitcoms created by Lear.

The second special, which aired in Dec. 2019, recreated “All in the Family.” It starred Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Bacon, Ike Barinholtz, Sean Hayes, Anthony Anderson, Ellie Kemper and Jesse Eisenberg.

After Lear’s death in Dec. 2023, Kimmel remembered the late star in an emotional tribute that he delivered to an empty studio on his late-night show.

“Last night at around 7 p.m., we lost not only a giant in the world of television, but a great man who was one of the most important and impressive people I ever had the pleasure of meeting,” Kimmel said.

“Norman was the genius who brought us some of the greatest television shows and characters of all time,” Kimmel continued, as he listed off some of Lear’s iconic shows including “All in the Family,” “Maude,” “Good Times” and The Facts of Life.”

“He changed situation comedy in the best possible way,” Kimmel added of Lear. “He taught us so much about so many serious things, always making us laugh while he did it, and everyone who works in or even watches television owes him a great debt. Especially me.”

Last week, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was taken off the air by ABC because of the host’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during his monologue on last Monday night’s show.

Following pressure from FCC chair Brendan Carr and ABC affiliate Nexstar Media Group, the network announced Kimmel’s show was being pulled “indefinitely.”

Hollywood came together to slam ABC’s parent company, Disney, for the decision. Over 400 stars signed an open letter with the American Civil Liberties Union protesting Kimmel’s suspension, including Jennifer Aniston, Ariana Grande, Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Pedro Pascal and Robert De Niro.

This story is developing…