Jon Stewart returning to host The Daily Show for just one day a week could have easily been a disaster, a Jay Leno-esque maneuver that allowed him to awkwardly cling to his old job at the expense of the next generation of talent.
Thankfully, those fears have been largely allayed by Stewart’s performance. He slipped into The Daily Show desk like it was a comfortable pair of slippers back in February, and immediately dominated the zeitgeist by suggesting that the record-setting agedness of this year’s presidential candidates was kind of an issue. His first show back was a ratings bonanza, and a lot of viewers have stuck around ever since.
The question now is: How long is he going to do this for?
When news of Stewart’s return first dropped, it was announced that he would only perform his once-a-week hosting duties “until November’s election.” After that, he would serve as The Daily Show’s executive producer and “continue to oversee the show into 2025.” But now the Death to Smoochy star is implying that he might just stick around as the part-time host for even longer.
At a recent Emmy FYC event, several Daily Show team members, including Stewart, Ronny Chieng, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta and Desi Lydic, gathered for an extended conversation. Stewart revealed that Comedy Central had already asked him to come back to the show following Trevor Noah’s 2022 exit. “And I said, ‘No,’” Stewart claimed.
Seemingly what changed for Stewart was the untimely demise of his Apple TV+ show The Problem with Jon Stewart. “They felt that it would be better if I didn’t say the things that I enjoy saying for them,” Stewart explained, seemingly referring to how the software giant banned him from discussing certain topics, including China and artificial intelligence.
As for his future at The Daily Show, Stewart coyly remarked, “The one thing I will say is I walked away nine years ago because I was burnt (out). And I don’t feel that right now. I feel reinvigorated.”
Of course we’re still months away from a presidential election that will almost certainly drain the souls of even the most casual observers, so we’ll have to wait and see whether or not Stewart still feels “reinvigorated” by the time November 5th rolls around.
But if Stewart’s cooking right now, and Comedy Central is happy with the ratings, who could possibly have a problem with him sticking around? Well, how about the other Daily Show correspondents/sometimes hosts? At the event, they all spoke glowingly about Stewart, either out of genuine admiration for the comedian, or because shitting on your boss at a public event is never a smart career move.
Chieng said that Stewart’s first episode back was like watching Michael Jordan’s NBA return in the ‘90s, also crediting him as the person who “invented modern American satire.” Meanwhile, Lydic quipped “They say never meet your heroes. I say meet your hero and immediately get on his payroll.”
Klepper, on the other hand, said that when he first got word of Stewart’s return, his first reaction was: “He’s still alive? What a relief.” Presumably Klepper was confusing Stewart with his character from The Faculty, who gets syringed in the eyeball by Josh Hartnett.
R.I.P. Professor Edward Furlong.
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