Jimmy Kimmel didn’t throw a single punch on his first night back from a two-month hiatus.

I think we all knew that between his brief suspension last year and Strike Force Five’s reunion this spring in support of Stephen Colbert, and just… life in general, Jimmy Kimmel was going to confront any kind of opposition with gusto, zeal, and absolutely crazy jokes for as long as he was allowed to make them. But it’s so nice to see it play out early, and yes, often…

On Tuesday, Kimmel returned for the first time after a two-month hiatus, and he didn’t throw a single punch. Perhaps the gentlest joke was Jimmy’s admission: “Donald Trump and I have one thing in common. We both accomplished NOTHING all summer.”

This monologue, of course, aired after Tuesday’s sixth “Exclusive,” which said Kimmel would be canceled after 24 years. This statement, according to ABC, was “inaccurate”, although they failed to actually commit to “we love Jimmy and will keep him forever!”

Perhaps they knew what was coming. Because Jimmy announced today that, “due to circumstances beyond our understanding,” his interview with Democrat and U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico will not be broadcast on television, but only tomorrow on his YouTube channel.

It’s… look, I wish we had a word other than pathetic, right? If the powers that be are so horrified by an eight-minute conversation between a comedian and a politician that they are going to ban it from the airwaves!? Not that that stopped Kimmel. I feel like he gets more energy from sparring like that because he couldn’t look more reasonable. On the one hand, this is cold comfort, and on the other, sentimental fun.

There was another, simpler fun. Jimmy’s first guest last night was Mariska Hargitay, who will host the Emmy Awards for the first time on Monday. This interview felt disarmingly real – they talked about how desperately she would wait for tiny windows in the show when she could pee, and to me… it hit home. What connection between mind and body explains how anxiety arises? When you’re going to the toilet, it makes your situation worse have pee? This seems like a real problem, and while we know the host has a tendency to fade into the back half of the show, she’ll probably be fine… she’s also 62 years old. Her jokes about wearing incontinence protection are probably at least half true, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed up in her monologue… or, since Jimmy’s wife is a producer, if he or his writing team provided some jokes for Mariska’s monologue.

Kaia Gerber was also a guest, and to answer Sarah’s question, no, I’m not watching. Shards … nevertheless, in any case. (It’s funny that in the captions to the photos of Kaia, who came to the Kimmel shoot, our photo agency refers to Shards as “Bret Easton Ellis’s final and brilliant novel, considered by many to be his most human work.” First of all, this is a full signature! Secondly, why was “the most human novel” so unexpectedly revealing?!) I know that I should have an opinion about whether she deserves or will ever deserve the amount of fame and attention that she has, and how much of it will be her birthright if she didn’t walking around with her mother’s face. I don’t know how everyone else feels, but I can confidently say that it feels like a game. She doesn’t shy away from comparisons or stories about “Uncle” George Clooney. I find it refreshing that now that the “not-kid” discourse has gone mainstream, no one has to pretend they “made it on their own.” My biggest surprise about Kaia Gerber at this point is that as a lifelong summer resident of Muskoka, she was mentioned but did not appear in Sterling Point. Is there a scheduling problem, or did they not ask? Maybe season 2?

But again, today only Thursday. Kimmel has two more monologues this week, not to mention the FCC-banned interview and everything else this week brings. I hate that he’s constantly under fire, but I LOVE how prepared he is for whatever comes at him. The comedian turned talk show host is against… the entire American broadcast infrastructure. Are you not having fun?