‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Once Again Aims To Help Working Actors Get Health Insurance With New Casting Notice

Jimmy Kimmel is setting out to help his fellow SAG-AFTRA members once again.

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A recent casting notice for Jimmy Kimmel Live! calls for actors who are just shy of qualifying for health insurance. They must be within $1,401 of meeting the minimum requirement to be considered for the role, according to the listing, which is currently circulating on social media and was confirmed to Deadline by a source close to production.

In 2023, SAG-AFTRA required members to earn at least $26,470 from acting work in order to qualify for the union’s health insurance plan. That number is scheduled to increase by 2% every year.

This is not the first time that Kimmel has tried to lend a helping hand to working actors. Two years ago, Kerry Washington guest hosted an episode where actors were invited on the show to deliver a line solely for the purpose of claiming their health insurance.

However, this has been a particularly rough time for many actors, following last year’s historic dual SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. After more than 100 days on the picket lines, actors ratified their new contract with the studios in hopes of getting swiftly back to work. So far, that has not been the case.

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Production has been slow in the first six months of the year as the industry weathers a contraction, due in part to the reduction in spending from studios as they try to recalibrate once again after several financially fraught years between the strikes and the COVID pandemic.

Many in the entertainment industry still see a light at the end of the tunnel, though, as IATSE seeks to ratify its new three-year deal on Thursday, and the Teamsters look to wrap up their contract negotiations by the end of the month. Sources have told Deadline that, in addition to the reduction in spending, studios were also hedging their bets by treading lightly with new productions in case those unions went on strike.

With new deals for below-the-line crew on the horizon, it remains to be seen whether that will give the industry the jolt it needs to get back up and running full steam ahead.

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