The Return of Jon Stewart

As reported in entertainment news yesterday, Jon Stewart is coming back to host the Daily Show. This news might come as a surprise to many – it reportedly shocked John Oliver, host of Last Week Tonight (and a former correspondent, and fill in host, on The Daily Show) when he heard the news – since Stewart left the show after getting burned out, with a desire to find other projects and do new things. But Comedy Central’s premiere fake news broadcast has been in disarray over the last year, ever since Trevor Noah made the surprise decision to leave after his own tenure ended, and the network clearly needed to do something to draw eyes back to the program. So, as some have called it, the “broke the emergency glass” and brought Stewart back.

The deal for Stewart to return to the show he basically built (taking over from Craig Killborn after that host’s first three seasons) is both a triumphant return for the host, but also an acknowledgement that Comedy Central really doesn’t know what to do with the series. Stewart is great in his element, reading comedic news takes and tearing down interview subjects with ease. He had a show just recently on Apple TV+, The Problem with Jon Stewart, where he got to do single-episode, deep dive discussions (like a fusion of The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight), proving he was still interested in being part of the political conversation. That show, though, was canceled due to creative differences (reportedly Apple didn’t want episodes on China and A.I., respectively, and Stewart didn’t like being told not to report on things), so Stewart was free… but did The Daily Show really need Stewart?

Bear in mind that, for the last year, The Daily Show had a series of rotating hosts come through the program. This was the show’s “audition process”, a week for each host to prove their mettle. Some did better than others, but there’s no denying that this whole audition process was a hail mary play because Noah left suddenly and Comedy Central didn’t know what to do next. A show that had been airing since 1996 suddenly wouldn’t have a host or anyone readily set up to take over. So auditions, live on air, to see if someone proved themselves to be the next Stewart or Noah.

There was one obvious contender: Hasan Minhaj, who previously had hosted the very Last Week Tonight-style show Patriot Act over on Netflix for six seasons before its cancellation. Minhaj had cut his teeth on The Daily Show before going off to host his own program, and when he returned he (at least in this writer’s opinion) really nailed his week as host. Comedy Central was apparently ready to make him an offer as host, until a New Yorker article came out stating that Minhaj had fabricated many of his most famous stories in his stand-up act. This caused a bit of a firestorm online, with Minhaj’s credibility called into question.

Although I don’t want to spend a lot of time hashing out all sides of this debate, it is fair to say that credibility is required for a host on The Daily Show. Stewart became the voice of the program, and many people that watched the show said he was their “most trusted news source” (even if Stewart himself rebelled at the idea of calling The Daily Show “news”). If Minhaj couldn’t be considered a trusted source, not along the lines of Stewart of Noah, then that would naturally exclude him from the role as host. Of course, comedians do inflate and exaggerate details of their comedy, and I’m sure you could go back and find lies and falsehoods in the comedy of Stewart or Noah as well. But they didn’t have to weather the audition process live on air, and they didn’t have a controversy break right as they were about to get the job. It was poor timing for Minhaj, and that sunk it for him.

The next obvious host was Roy Wood, Jr. He was also a long time correspondent on the show, and he did his week as host during the last year and was pretty good as well. For whatever reason, though, Comedy Central didn’t seem to want to hire him for the job (even after giving him his audition week), and after waiting and waiting, Wood eventually left the program. He got tired of the wait and didn’t want to keep with a program that was going to leave him to dangle and never give him the brass ring. Understandable, for sure. But that also took him out of contention completely, and so another possible host was gone.

As a side note, I’ve always thought that Comedy Central made a huge mistake not locking John Oliver down for a contract on The Daily Show after his fill-in stint as host in 2013. By then it was already known that Stewart was going to leave at some point, and Oliver was absolutely fantastic behind the desk. I love Last Week Tonight and I think Oliver is great there, as well. But I can’t help but think that Oliver would have added a cool spin to the flagship show and I doubt Comedy Central would still be looking for a new host if Oliver had been given the seat. He’s been doing his program for ten years, with no sign of stopping, so clearly he has the long-haul stamina. That’s not to deride Noah’s time on the show, as he was good too. But the what if scenario is interesting to think about.

Still, with no other host making their mark, and clearly plenty of people willing to audition but either not doing well enough in their week, or not wanting the gig after doing four episodes, Comedy Central was out of options. But Stewart was free, and apparently willing to return back on a temporary basis, so that’s where we’re at now. He’s going to executive produce the show through 2025, and he’ll host the Monday episodes through this year’s election season. Back in time to tear apart Trump and his MAGA minions and, well, I do think we need that. Trump gives voices to the anger of the far right, and Stewart (as he used to do on the show for years and years) can give voice to the anger of the left.

Plus, it gives Stewart a chance to make up for one big mistake of his tenure: not taking Trump seriously as a candidate. When Trump first announced he was running for president back in 2015, coming down that gold escalator, Stewart said, on air, “please let him be a contender.” No one, including Stewart, expected Trump to last through the election cycle. He certainly didn’t think Trump would get the nomination, let alone actually become president. Stewart bowed out of the show before Trump got that far, and then he got to watch on the sidelines like everyone else as the Trump Administration happened.

I’m not saying that Stewart on The Daily Show would have somehow stopped Trump from becoming president, but maybe having him at the desk would have affected the political landscape some. Again, I liked Noah but his version of the show was different. He didn’t tap into that same political rage that Stewart could often find. And I don’t think he handled Trump anywhere near as effectively as Stewart could have. During the Bush II administration, Stewart ripped into the right and tore away with glee. We needed that. We still do.

There’s comfort in the idea of Stewart coming back to The Daily Show to lead the charge once more. We’ll get him for a year and he’ll get to rip into Trump this time around after skipping it before. The catharsis will be nice, and maybe it’ll get eyes on the political landscape (and shift things just a little). But, at the same time, perhaps we don’t need the security of an old voice coming back. Trump taps into fear and rage and the need to “get us back where we were.” Does Stewart coming back do the same thing? Is it just a “Make the Daily Show Great Again”? Nostalgia for what was good is nice, but we need to keep pushing forward.

I have hope that Stewart can do a solid job this year and then find a host that can carry the show forward. But Comedy Central needs to figure out what they’re doing with their flagship fake news program. Every time they run into trouble they can’t just bring Stewart back again. One day the show absolutely needs to stand on its own without his shadow looming over it.