Jon Stewart Signs New Contract, To Host 'Daily Show' Through 2025
Jon Stewart returned to The Daily Show" earlier this year in an agreement to host the show on Mondays through the conclusion of the 2024 presidential election. His contract was nearing its end. However, Stewart announced on Monday that he signed an extension that would keep him in his current role through December 2025.
"I’ve truly enjoyed being back working with the incredible team at ‘The Daily Show’ and Comedy Central. I was really hoping they’d allow me to do every other Monday, but I’ll just have to suck it up…," Stewart joked in a statement to Variety.
The current rotating group of anchors — Desi Lydic, Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta, and Jordan Klepper — will continue in their roles, Tuesday through Thursday.
Stewart will remain an executive producer on the show.
NEW YORK - JUNE 17: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and guest Jon Stewart during Monday's June 17, 2019 show. (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)
Jon Stewart returned to "The Daily Show" earlier this year in a surprise move that coincided with his abrupt exit from AppleTV+. He reportedly exited Apple over a dispute about his planned coverage of China, a lucrative market crucial to Apple's phone sales.
"The Daily Show" is not the influential cultural juggernaut it was during Stewart's first run from 1999 to 2015. But Stewart is still sharp and witty. He's certainly an improvement over Trevor Noah, who replaced him in 2015, and the rest of the rotating anchors.
Of the current late-night hosts, Stewart is far more independent and courageous than Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, or Stephen Colbert – each of whom seems uninterested in making anyone but the most unhappy and desperate leftist chuckle.
Stewart can still be funny. Believe it or not, humor is still important when hosting a late-night television program.
"Jon’s incisive intellect and sharp wit make him one of the most important voices in political and cultural commentary today," said Chris McCarthy, co-CEO of Paramount Global.
"His ability to cut through the noise and deliver clear-eyed insights is exactly what we need which is why we are thrilled to have him leading ‘The Daily Show’ for another year."
Comedy Central has found particular success with Stewart's return by airing him live after big events.
Namely, Stewart's post-debate show on Sept 10. (the ABC ambush debate) scored 966,000 average viewers with a TV rating of 0.572, the Daily Show's highest in seven years.
As a result, the network will turn to Stewart on election night with a one-hour special titled "The Daily Show Presents a Live Election Night Special With Jon Stewart: Indecision 2024: Nothing We Can Do About It Now."
Granted, a satirical program could struggle to compete with traditional television broadcasts on Nov 5. And if the polls are accurate, liberal viewers will be in no mood to laugh come election night.