“Friends. After much reflection I have decided to enter the transfer portal for my last year of eligibility. Excited for the future!,” Stewart tweeted Wednesday.
Jon Stewart is back on The Daily Show.
After a year-long search for Trevor Noah’s replacement, the longtime host has agreed to return on Monday nights through the 2024 election.
Stewart announced the news on X (née Twitter) Wednesday with a bit of a sports reference.
“Friends. After much reflection I have decided to enter the transfer portal for my last year of eligibility. Excited for the future!,” Stewart wrote before sharing some of his personal stats. “5’7″ ish. 165. 14.8 second 40 #Blessed #NILBABY #TDSnation #LFGM.”
Friends. After much reflection I have decided to enter the transfer portal for my last year of eligibility. Excited for the future!
5’7” ish
165
14.8 second 40#Blessed #NILBABY #TDSnation #LFGM— Jon Stewart (@jonstewart) January 24, 2024
@jonstewart
Stewart is set to return starting February 12.
As for the rest of the week, Comedy Central’s parent company, Paramount, said Wednesday that the show will lean on a team of correspondents — Jordan Klepper, Desi Lydic, Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta and Dulcé Sloan — to fill out the rest of the week.
Stewart, who spent 16 years at the show, will be heavily involved as an executive producer on the other nights well.
“Stewart is the voice of our generation, and we are honored to have him return to Comedy Central’s The Daily Show to help us all make sense of the insanity and division roiling the country as we enter the election season,” Chris McCarthy, chief executive of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios, said in a statement.
“In our age of staggering hypocrisy and performative politics,” McCarthy added, “Jon is the perfect person to puncture the empty rhetoric and provide much-needed clarity with his brilliant wit.”
The move comes after Stewart prematurely exited his Apple TV+ show, The Problem, following creative differences between him and Apple over over potential topics and guests.
It also comes amid the ongoing search for a new host following Noah’s announced his departure in December 2022, with the South African-born comedian exiting to focus on stand-up and other projects.
Prior to bringing Stewart back, the Daily Show has employed a carousel of temporary guest hosts as they search for a more temporary fit.
Who will ultimately helm the long-running comedy news series remains to be seen.