Jimmy Kimmel has sent his thanks to CBS for inadvertently boosting the ratings for his eponymous late night show, after the network axed The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.Colbert’s final broadcast aired in mid-May, forcing his dedicated viewers to tune into another late night show. Now, it seems that many have chosen Kimmel’s.In June, the show averaged 3.15 million viewers for its best-ever monthly audience in its 23-year history.“The ratings are very strong, which we are very grateful to CBS for their wisdom,” Kimmel slyly told Variety. “We were doing pretty well before that, but that really helped.”Asked if he thought Colbert fans had found a new home, he quipped: “I’ve always thought of our show as an orphanage.”CBS announced the cancellation of the long-running Late Show franchise last July, just days after Colbert criticized the network’s parent company, Paramount, for reaching a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over accusations that its series 60 Minutes deceptively edited a 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.‘The ratings are very strong, which we are very grateful to CBS for their wisdom,’ Kimmel said (AFP/Getty)The final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert attracted an audience of 6.74 million viewers, making it the most-watched weeknight episode during the show’s 11-year run.More follows on this breaking news story. Subscribe here to get the latest updates from The Independent