Jon Stewart Makes The Daily Show Comeback Following Apple TV Show Cancelation

Jon Stewart is set to make an unexpected return to The Daily Show as Monday night host during the late-night program’s 2024 election cycle, and is also expected to be running things in an overseeing role that has the potential to see him remain with the show into 2025. Having already been a big part of the show during its popularity peak, Stewart will make his first appearance on February 12.

The decision to welcome Stewart back to the fold comes after a long and unsuccessful search for a new host following Trevor Noah’s departure at the end of 2022. Rather than delaying any longer, it seems that the return of a familiar face in Stewart, with his ability to rip into the absurd nature of politics, has become an obvious way to solve the hosting issue. This move underscores Comedy Central’s commitment to maintaining the show’s impact, especially with the ramping up of this year’s election campaigns.

Chris McCarthy, President/CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, expressed his enthusiasm for Stewart’s return, highlighting the vital role Stewart’s voice plays in today’s politically tumultuous landscape. Chris McCarthy, President/CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, said:

“Jon 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. In our age of staggering hypocrisy and performative politics, Jon is the perfect person to puncture the empty rhetoric and provide much-needed clarity with his brilliant wit.”

Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show Return Explained

Stewart, who left the show in 2015 to pursue other projects, including a stint as an executive producer of CBS’ The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and hosting The Problem With Jon Stewart on Apple’s streaming service, shared his excitement about his return in his own announcement on his X account as can be seen below.

His comeback comes on the back of the cancelation of his Apple TV+ show last October. The series was not given a renewal by the streaming platform over “fears” about content planned for the third season, which would have taken aim at, among other things, Israel, artificial intelligence and China. Although there were questions about where Stewart would go next following the news, it seems that it ended up allowing him to make this very unexpected comeback.

As well as harking back to a peak time of The Daily Show’s past, the move is a strategic move by Comedy Central to try and negotiate their way around the ever-changing world of late-night television, which has seen a number of challenges with changing audience demographics over the last few years.

The addition of Stewart to The Daily Show will be something that Comedy Central will be hoping can entice some of the program’s lost viewership back. The broader implications of Stewart’s return are significant, potentially setting the stage for him to play a part in finding his successors of the future. Stewart’s original tenure was notable not just for its critical and popular success but also for launching the careers of numerous comedians who have since become household names.

As The Daily Show prepares to enter another election cycle with Jon Stewart back at the helm, the move is seen as a hopeful sign for the program’s future. Whether it turns out to be a successful decision is one that we will soon find out when Stewart steps back into his old role in a few weeks’ time.

The Daily Show

Release Date

July 22, 1996

Seasons

21

Studio

Comedy Central