Just months after Jon Stewart’s sudden departure from Apple TV Plus, the comedian is set to make his return to The Daily Show on Comedy Central.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Show’s yearlong search for a new host following Trevor Noah’s departure in 2022 has culminated in Stewart’s return this February. In a statement about the news, Showtime / MTV Entertainment Studios president Chris McCarthy described Stewart as “the voice of our generation,” whose political perspectives are going to be invaluable as we get deeper into the 2024 presidential election cycle.
“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,” McCarthy said.
In the year during Comedy Central’s search for someone to replace Noah, multiple guest hosts sat in for brief stints at The Daily Show desk, and a somewhat similar structure’s going to remain in place going forward. While Stewart will host Monday broadcasts, the newsroom’s correspondents will head up the show for the rest of the week, and Stewart is said to be actively “shaping new talent” for the long-running show.
Stewart’s return to Comedy Central comes in the wake of his previous news show being prematurely canceled by Apple — reportedly over Stewart’s desire to report on artificial intelligence and topics related to China. Even if The Daily Show hadn’t been building up hype about who the new host might be, bringing Stewart back is the kind of move that’s likely going to be a ratings boon.
And with Stewart once again being in a position to speak his mind a bit more freely, it’s going to be very interesting to see if he comments on the reports that the gig almost went to Hasan Minhaj. Stewart will be back on The Daily Show beginning February 12th.