In 2015, Jon Stewart departed The Daily Show after 16 years, but now he’s back in his old stomping grounds. It was announced in late January that Stewart will host the Comedy Central program on Mondays through the election year, as well as executive produce. Naturally this news excited many people who enjoyed the man’s original tenure, and in addition to reflecting on his return to The Daily Show, Stewart revealed the one thing that didn’t work out so well the first time around.
On the subject of if it’s fair to say he’s “hoping to have an influence on politics” during his second round hosting The Daily Show, Jon Stewart started off during this segment of his CBS Mornings interview by saying he’s hoping to have a “catharsis,” a way to “comment on things” and express these comments in a way that people hopefully “enjoy.” He continued:
But as far as influence, and you guys know this from doing this, just about everything that I wanted to happen over the 16 years that I was at The Daily Show did not happen. If you were hoping for influence - and I think I've learned that post-Daily Show, kind of being lucky enough to watch activists as they move to the PACT Act and toxic exposure - being able to observe that? That's having influence, watching people do that. I like in television if you can occasionally provide air support to those on the ground who are actually doing the work. So I don't view it as, 'I really want to have an influence on this issue, election, things like that.' It's what we do.
While I don’t necessarily agree with Jon Stewart that The Daily Show wasn’t influential when he was sitting behind the anchor’s desk, he’s certainly correct he’s done more when it comes to spreading direct influence since leaving the show, including advocating for 9/11 first responders. So while Stewart’s second go-around at hosting comes during an especially important election year, he doesn’t expect that he’ll be more influential this time around given his past experience. Rather, his latest Daily Show hosting stint will continue with amplifying the voices of the people doing the hard work spreading awareness for their various causes… and, you know, do so in funny ways.
Jon Stewart’s return to The Daily Show comes several months after Apple TV+ cancelled The Problem with Jon Stewart, which reportedly stemmed from the host and his team getting into “creative disagreements” with the company over certain topics they wanted to cover. Regarding The Daily Show, following Trevor Noah’s departure in late 2022 after seven years of hosting, 2023 featured a rotating lineup of guests hosts, and originally the plan was to hire a new permanent host by the end of the year. Hasan Minhaj reportedly came close to landing the gig, but those plans fell through by autumn. So now with Jon Stewart hosting Mondays and correspondents/previous guests hosts holding down the fort for the rest of the week, it won’t be until 2025 that the search for a new permanent host resumes.
The Daily Show airs new episodes Monday through Thursday at 11 p.m. ET on Comedy Central. Revisit old episodes with your Paramount+ subscription, and remember to use the 2024 TV schedule to check out what others shows are currently on or arriving soon.
