Jimmy Kimmel’s new timeslot guests including Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Aniston

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is going to be coming back on the air beginning on January 8, and when it happens, the host will be doing so in a competitive timeslot that puts him straight up against his hero David Letterman along with Jay Leno.

So who all will he be welcoming to the show immediately following his return to TV? Well, let’s just say that Kimmel is rolling out some of the big guns. While producers have not announced just yet who all of the individual dates will be, the guests are set to include the likes of the Kardashian sisters (presumably Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney), Jennifer Aniston, Nicki Minaj, Kimmel’s longtime friend Ellen DeGeneres, Ryan Gosling, Sofia Vergara, Rob Lowe, Jamie Foxx, Mindy Kaling, and Bruno Mars.

It’s understandable why Kimmel would feel the need to put so much effort into the “new” launch of his show: he likely feels as though he needs to pull off something big if he wants to get attention for himself right now, especially since what is being often ignored here is a viewership issue that we are guilty of: watching the Letterman monologue, and then flipping over and watching him for a while. He is now forcing viewers to deliberately choose to watch him over the competition, and he needs to not be buried in the early going; otherwise, it could be a major concern for ABC in the long run, since they would like to have some sort of proper lead-in audience for their “Nightline” program.

What do you think about Kimmel’s guest list for the new year? If you want to see some hilarious highlights from “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” this year, all you have to do is head on over to the link here.

Photo: ABC