Here it comes, your Monday of Zen

January 24, 2024 12:26 PM

Jon Stewart Returns to ‘Daily Show’ as Monday Host, Executive Producer [Variety]

After scuttling a months-long search for a new host, the Paramount Global network said it has enlisted Jon Stewart, who presided over the late-night mainstay’s most popular era, to serve as its host on Monday nights throughout the 2024 election cycle and to run the program. He is expected to play an oversight role at “Daily” that could extend through 2025, and will start his on-air duties February 12. Various “Daily Show” correspondents will host the program Tuesday through Thursday nights, and Jen Flanz, the current executive producer, will continue her duties on the show.

This news comes on the heels of The Problem with Jon Stewart's unexpected Apple TV+ cancellation over "creative differences" after an incisive two-season run, following a hiatus Stewart spent pursuing filmmaking, animal rescue (and animal rescue), and fighting for first responders. Weekly guest hosts following the 2022 departure of Trevor Noah included Leslie Jones, Wanda Sykes, D.L. Hughley, Chelsea Handler, Sarah Silverman, Hasan Minhaj, Marlon Wayans, Kal Penn, Al Franken, John Leguizamo, Roy Wood, Jr., Jordan Klepper, Desi Lydic, Dulcé Sloan, Michael Kosta, Ronny Chieng, Desus Nice, Charlamagne Tha God, and Michelle Wolf.
posted by Rhaomi (48 comments total)

I loved him back in the day, but this feels like yet another case of things going backwards/not moving forward.
posted by smirkette at 12:31 PM on January 24 [27 favorites]

Can we get Zack de la Rocha as musical host?
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 12:43 PM on January 24 [10 favorites]

Wanda, D.L., Kai, and Al please
posted by Billiken at 12:46 PM on January 24

this feels like yet another case of things going backwards/not moving forward.

Previous posts on the blue involving Jon Stewart have had copious posters commenting with pleas to Jon to "come back" and criticizing him for retiring and "leaving us". Someone even called him "the modern-day equivalent of Edward R. Murrow".

This may not be seen as a case of "things going backward" as it is a sort of "return of the king" moment in some quarters.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:02 PM on January 24 [19 favorites]

I'm still waiting for the Daily Show to give Josh Johnson a shot. I think he would be a remarkable fit for the show.
posted by tdismukes at 1:07 PM on January 24 [3 favorites]

Oh I wish John and Trevor could do it together. John as the straight man and Trevor to keep things light.
posted by LizBoBiz at 1:08 PM on January 24 [4 favorites]

I quite liked his Apple show, especially the behind the scenes with the writers. He had hired a group of diverse young voices, and it really felt like he was very protective of them, and that they were free to call him out on his humbug. Hoping that his "oversight role" is code for "bringing some of that talent over."
posted by Rudy_Wiser at 1:08 PM on January 24 [9 favorites]

They better not make him shave off that glorious beard.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 1:13 PM on January 24 [4 favorites]

Oh I wish John and Trevor could do it together. John as the straight man and Trevor to keep things light.


I would definitely watch that. I think it's clear however that Trevor would not consider returning, even for Jon.
posted by thoughtful_jester at 1:13 PM on January 24 [1 favorite]

This may not be seen as a case of "things going backward" as it is a sort of "return of the king" moment in some quarters.

Oh, definitely. But it still is going backwards.
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:20 PM on January 24 [5 favorites]

Welp, guess that explains the whole "not bothering with a host" issue now.

I wonder what Roy Wood Jr. is thinking.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:24 PM on January 24 [18 favorites]

I think a lot of people in my particular cohort who were in college around the Bush administration maybe have a kind of complicated relationship with Jon these days. Personally, I just modeled too much of my thinking off of his takes on things. It was comforting, and I still find myself agreeing with him something like all the time, but building your thinking on humorists' perspectives can put you in a place where you don't take certain things as seriously as you really otta. I feel like it left me unprepared to respond to the serious turns a lot of things have taken in the last decade of my own political life, such as it is.

That's not his fault. His insight and wit are real, and he seems worthy of his platform. I look forward to seeing more of him, but I'm gonna watch that media diet this time around. Eat my vegetables, so to speak. Read more books, even if they're bummers.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 1:30 PM on January 24 [17 favorites]

Now go put the tools away.
posted by y2karl at 2:10 PM on January 24

He damn near killed Tucker Carlson's career in a live setting with the slickest burn since "Have you no decency?" I hope he gets that chance and shines a light on just how dark things are now.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 2:18 PM on January 24 [11 favorites]

He was shitty to Wyatt Cenac and then stole the man's ideas. I will never forgive him for that.
posted by mattgriffin at 2:28 PM on January 24 [6 favorites]

building your thinking on humorists' perspectives can put you in a place where you don't take certain things as seriously as you really otta

That's what I was trying to get at on that thread the other day about "doing your own research."
posted by grumpybear69 at 2:48 PM on January 24

I wonder what Roy Wood Jr. is thinking.

You don't have to wonder. He's been out doing some podcasts and has spoken about this directly. As he tells it, Roy was in the running strong, but then they were going to pick Minhaj and Wood quit the show for being passed over. He's developing a new comedy hour and is looking at starting a new project. He's pretty hurt about the situation as far as I've been able to tell from what he's saying.
posted by hippybear at 2:54 PM on January 24 [6 favorites]

Stewart was also formative for me and will always have a place in my past, but his schtick hasn’t aged well at all. No, we can’t be buddy buddy with cryptofascists like Bill O’Reilly

I remember Stewart giving James O’Keefe’s original prank a platform and being the original liberal voice believing the hit job on ACORN and shaming other news sources into covering the obviously BS story because Stewart wanted to make a point about *both sides*. There’s a direct line between that and low Dem turn-out in 2016. ACORN was a colossus in turning out Black and low income voters and nothing filled that gap

I remember being so hyped by the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear but go back and read Stewart’s heartfelt final speech about getting over our differences that doesn’t once mention getting out the goddamned vote just days before the midterm election

Stewart enthusiastically jumps on other populist topics, too, like I doubt most people even remember that the Wuhan Lab Leak theory is disfavored by both the majority of the scientific community and even the majority of government reports because the headlines favor the more salacious take

What I’d really, really like to know is who called the hit job on Hasan Minaj when he was in line for the host gig and why the Daily Show producers ate that scandal up with a spoon but had no qualms about letting multiple sexual harassment scandal holder Charlamange Tha God host so many times in this interim period

I have no doubts that the production team at the Daily Show is the hottest of hot messes right now and probably need Stewart back at the helm, but I’m also not super psyched either. The Daily Show, The Onion and Dave Chapelle (for different reasons) are all artifacts of the past that just aren’t going to go back to being good again for me
posted by Skwirl at 3:06 PM on January 24 [26 favorites]

I do think that despite his limitations Jon Stewart was a positive voice for the 2000s, but he and his show were just completely of that era's politics and media landscape.

Bringing him back to cable just feels vaguely sad, like trying to reboot the Smothers Brothers or having Jello Biafra sing "Mar-a-Lago Uber Alles" or whatever.
posted by smelendez at 3:18 PM on January 24 [10 favorites]

is a sort of "return of the king" moment in some quarters.

In the summer, your local fairground is going to be full of 75 year old men and women who feel exactly this way when Eric Burdon comes out on stage and restricts the "new stuff" to just a couple 50 year old War songs. Anyone who was born after 1955 might think it is just a tired old dude playing the tired old hits to a tired old crowd.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 3:41 PM on January 24 [1 favorite]

I always thought he was at his best holding the media accountable and I hope he continues in that role as it is surely needed. That being said, I haven't watched the daily show since Trevor left and I'm not sure I'll tune in now.
posted by Thrakburzug at 3:43 PM on January 24

You don't have to wonder. He's been out doing some podcasts and has spoken about this directly.

Oh, I was just thinking specifically about the Jon Stewart announcement today. I know how he felt prior to that, anyway. Unless he's said anything today, but it'd probably be on Twitter or whatever, I presume.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:52 PM on January 24 [1 favorite]

His whole shtick in the 2000s was “Bush lied about WMDs”!!! And not “US imperialism is fundamentally a force for evil”. I get why the former is entertaining and the latter isn’t, but building a politics around hurrr durr republicans lol doesn’t result in good politics.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 3:54 PM on January 24 [5 favorites]

Between this and the Hillary Clinton Barbie girlboss tweet I don’t have high hopes for 2024.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 3:55 PM on January 24 [5 favorites]

but building a politics around hurrr durr republicans lol doesn’t result in good politics.

Well, right, but The Daily Show under Trevor Noah had evolved well beyond that [and to be honest it had evolved well beyond that by the time Stewart left], and with the current slate of guest hosts the show is really struggling to find an identity.

I think there's something to be said about having a rotating host slot -- Have I Got News For You has benefitted greatly from this, and honestly it seems that when Angus was removed from the show and it went into host rotation, it actually spawned the proliferation of panel shows on UK television as people got hosting experience and wanted more.

But hosting The Daily Show as a guest host has been a full week of work, and the show has been lurching from flavor to flavor with each new host. It's a show that might benefit more from it being a two-week gig, or maybe a month. Something long enough for the host to actually generate maybe some recurring things that reflect what they want to communicate, rather than trying to stuff it all into 4 20-minute episodes.
posted by hippybear at 4:01 PM on January 24

He hasn't exactly set the world on fire doing boutique TV, has he? When you look at the history of late night hosts, it was probably a bit of hubris to imagine there was something to graduate to. You could do worse, honestly.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:05 PM on January 24

After seeing Roy and Hasan and Sarah and Kal host and seeing the potential there I'm very disappointed.

I like Jon Stewart but I feel like he's an old person with an old perspective who doesn't have the same priorities as a young person like me.

I'm 55.
posted by mmoncur at 4:10 PM on January 24 [23 favorites]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned John Oliver, because it feels like he's hosting the actual 2020s era Daily Show right now. He's both funnier and smarter than Jon was at his best and he has excellent writers and good politics.

The only weakness of the show is it sometimes falls in love with a running bit too much and you have to skip several minutes of someone dancing around in a goofy costume.
posted by zymil at 4:40 PM on January 24 [23 favorites]

Does anyone have a link to a good explanation for why Noah left? The video isn’t watchable in my country.
posted by congen at 4:49 PM on January 24 [1 favorite]

Pardon my geekery, but the parallels between this and Russell T. Davies coming back to Doctor Who are striking. In both cases you have a legendary franchise that was run into the ground by a sub-mediocre talent (Chris Chibnall in Who's case, Trevor Noah with TDS), and just when it seemed like all hope was lost they bring in the beloved OG showrunner to try and save the thing. Davies and Stewart were both kind of at loose ends before they were brought back, and they were both Gen-X white guys whose return will inevitably be met with a lot of grumbling about how their moment has passed, they're relics of the 'aughts and we need new voices and all that. And in both cases, my response to the grumblers would be: Do you want this thing you love to survive? It's on life-support right now, this guy has proven he can make it work before and he's truly the best shot we've got. He probably wasn't expecting to come back either, but the situation is just that dire.

I stopped watching TDS during Noah's run. His insights never cut very deep and his jokes were just hacky as hell. I'd put him in the same bin with James Corden and Jimmy Fallon; cute, smirky guys ill-suited for an age when fascists are on the march. It was truly galling how inessential The Daily Show became during the darkest days of the Trump administration. I was just waiting for the day Noah would be gone and somebody else would take over. I would've been happy to try Roy Wood, Jr., but while he's a skilled comic I never got the feeling he truly cared that much about politics. (And indeed, since he left TDS he's talked about how he's relieved that he doesn't have to follow the news anymore.) The rotating hosts struck me as a desperate stopgap measure. Comedy Central was clearly trying to see if anybody clicked, and it just didn't happen. It didn't help that Comedy Central itself is barely a network at this point; they've basically become The Office reruns channel. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that they were ready to pull the plug on TDS and just keep showing The Office in a loop until they shut down in a year or two, and Stewart was actually the one who came to them, offering to do what he could to right the ship.

I never thought Stewart was as both-sides-y as some folks said. He was frustrated with the fumbles of the Democrats but he clearly loathed W and his cronies. Some of his old stuff hasn't aged at all well, but my lord, was he ever the man for the moment. Can he be the man for this moment? I'm honestly not sure. Even if (if) he's just as good as he used to be, I don't know that he could have the same kind of impact he had, back in the day.

But man, if he can summon that old fire one more time, it'll be a glorious thing.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:01 PM on January 24 [9 favorites]

And in both cases, my response to the grumblers would be: Do you want this thing you love to survive?

Not necessarily. There is nothing especially important about there being a Daily Show or a Doctor Who on the air. It is possible that something's time has passed, and bringing it back for another, inferior run doesn't actually accomplish much, unless you are just really excited about seeing a Sontaran in the abstract.

Nothing about Stewart's past performance suggests to me he has any insight that is especially needed right now. If he is the only one who can save the Daily Show, maybe it is time for it to become a series of mostly enjoyable audiobooks be retired.
posted by The Manwich Horror at 5:51 PM on January 24 [2 favorites]

Does anyone have a link to a good explanation for why Noah left?

The Hollywood Reporter did an entire profile about this topic, but the main reason is that he was feeling bored and fenced in by having this regular commitment and he wanted to do other things.
posted by hippybear at 6:09 PM on January 24 [2 favorites]

I'm Trans, but I'm not a Trans woman. My mom is a democrat but she's older, she had some work to do to understand Trans folks, including how Republicans go after Trans girls and Trans women, and I walked her through why Republican talking points on Trans women and sports and Trans folks were bullshit. And I don't know if she got it but then that same night we watched Jon Stewart's Apple+ show episode on Trans people, which I hadn't seen, and he and the people he talked to hit almost all the same points and it was funny and entertaining and educational, and after that one-two punch of me and Jon, my Mom *got* it.. Plus he called out the Arkansas AG for her absolute bullshit.

Supporting Trans rights, just on it's own, well it is obviously not a given among comedians, but he gets it, and I think he helped other people get it. And he's good at that, at calling people, politely, on their bullshit, on getting them to admit their hypocrisy. He called out the hypocristy and BS in terms of white people on race, of Conservatives on gun violence, of mainstream media, etc.

I watched what TDS put out in terms of Noah's best interviews with conservatives, and he just seems too congenial about their bullshit in comparison. Maybe he felt he had to be softer, with people, with his audience, I can't fully quantify why but perhaps because of American racism and xenophobia, but I didn't enjoy it. The rotating hosts don't really build up the weight of a long term host, that edge, that line when you call someone out. I want more of an edge, and I'm hoping Stewart brings it back to TDS.

I'm further to the left of Stewart, but I think he's great at moving the Overton Window, and calling out BS, and still making folks laugh. I mean I wish the mainstream media actually did their job instead of just reporting the horse race, but maybe comedy is the only way to get ratings/viewers/readers and call out bullshit at the same time.
posted by Chrysopoeia at 6:16 PM on January 24 [19 favorites]

Also, if you want to hear from Trevor Noah about his feelings about life right now, he was on Colbert last night, and he had things to say about getting out of the US and learning things about the US [7m30s].

The main point he makes is that in other countries, people elect people and then complain about the job that the people they elect are doing, wanting them to do better. In the US, people elect people and then complain about the other parties representatives and demonize them.

It's an interesting point to make.
posted by hippybear at 6:45 PM on January 24 [4 favorites]

There is nothing especially important about there being a Daily Show or a Doctor Who on the air.

To you. My point was that, for those of us who actually do care about these shows, these guys are probably the best choices to get them back on their feet.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 7:01 PM on January 24

To you. My point was that, for those of us who actually do care about these shows, these guys are probably the best choices to get them back on their feet.

Maybe it is just a difference in outlook, but I am not invested in shows I once enjoyed or gained some benefit from staying on the air for their own sake. I am interested in them continuing to serve whatever function they have. If you reach a point where that isn't possible, I am just as happy to see even programs I really like go away, rather than endure an ill advised revival, or additional seasons that don't work like the original version did.

I was a big fan of classic Dr. Who, but that didn't translate to any real interest in the revival series. Likewise, I liked the Daily Show in 1990s and 2000s, but cable TV is a lot less culturally relevant than it was back then, and I am not sure a program like Stewart's Daily Show really has a role in 2024 politics and culture.
posted by The Manwich Horror at 7:18 PM on January 24 [1 favorite]

I don't expect the Daily Show to come back as a major cultural force like it was in the aughts, but I can hope it will make some kind of measurable difference in an election year.
posted by subdee at 7:25 PM on January 24 [5 favorites]

> The only weakness of the show is it sometimes falls in love with a running bit too much and you have to skip several minutes of someone dancing around in a goofy costume.

In the early seasons of Last Week Tonight there was another weakness, in my view--John Oliver's love for repeating a joke's punchline 2, 3, 4 times in a row. Oof, I found that grating for reasons I cannot easily articulate. It was still worth watching, but occasionally I cringed.

I'm glad he figured out and/or got the memo that repeating the punchline is unnecessary, but if he insists, to only repeat it once. Once, Jon! (slaps desk) JUST ONE REPETITION, JON! (slapping desk with every syllable). YOU CAN ONLY REPEAT IT ONCE!! ONE! TIME!
posted by Hot Pastrami! at 12:24 PM on January 25 [1 favorite]

I wasn't a Jon Stewart viewer back in the day. The one time I saw him in the past few years, he was talking about how we can't forget how great capitalism is or something like that, and it felt like I was listening to a '90s Democrat. Has he changed up at all in that regard? Any friendlier to socialism nowadays?
posted by clawsoon at 12:46 PM on January 25

I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. He is not the same person he was back then, and I'm sure he's had a lot of missteps - even really bad ones - like 100% of everyone. Given his tireless and ultimately successful (not single-handed, obviously!) campaign to properly compensate the 9/11 first responders, I'd like to hear what he has to say.
posted by Glinn at 12:56 PM on January 25 [1 favorite]

Did you all conveniently forget Stewart pushing the Wuhan lab leak theory (and embarrassing poor Colbert)?

I honestly and sincerely thought that was a "bit".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:21 PM on January 25

clawsoon: "I wasn't a Jon Stewart viewer back in the day. The one time I saw him in the past few years, he was talking about how we can't forget how great capitalism is or something like that, and it felt like I was listening to a '90s Democrat. Has he changed up at all in that regard? Any friendlier to socialism nowadays?"

His recent interviews with Larry Summers and Janet Yellen are instructive.
posted by Rhaomi at 10:16 PM on January 25

Is there any socialist with a political tv show right now?
posted by Selena777 at 5:49 AM on January 26 [1 favorite]

Yay!
posted by mule98J at 4:45 PM on January 26 [2 favorites]

Anyone who was born after 1955 might think it is just a tired old dude playing the tired old hits to a tired old crowd.

Civil discourse is so boring. A better strategy is to retreat to your niche and reach for the toggle switch between us and them. (Aso, make fun of poeple over 70. Yeah. Good move.)
posted by mule98J at 4:51 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]

Civil discourse is great with your allies, or rivals, or enemies with which you share some core interests. It is pretty damned useless with fascists and bigots who are fundamentally driven by hostility to you and your interests.
posted by The Manwich Horror at 1:26 PM on January 28

Reminder: The first Stewart-hosted episode airs tonight at 11pm Eastern (in about 3 hours).

Also, from last night's Colbert: Jon Stewart is Returning to the Daily Show, but Will He Get His Security Deposit Back?
posted by Rhaomi at 5:01 PM on February 12

Even more people really wanted to watch Jon Stewart this week

Stewart’s second time behind the desk on Monday brought in a whopping 1.3 million viewers—the most for the series since his initial departure nine years ago—according to a press release from home network Comedy Central.

That’s a 35% increase from the returning host’s first appearance, which already brought almost a million people back into the broadcast television fold. Important to note: these viewership numbers, sourced from Nielsen, are just for the live telecast of the episode on Comedy Central. Data isn’t yet available for other Paramount-owned channels and streaming services (i.e. MTV, CMT, Logo, etc.) that air the show during subsequent days, but Stewart’s first episode hit 3 million viewers after 3 days (via Deadline), so it’s safe to assume that this one will do similarly huge numbers. If this feels like a lot of math, the takeaway once again is that Comedy Central’s big gambit paid off: after a long and bumbling search, Stewart really seems like the right man for the job.

posted by Rhaomi at 10:09 PM on February 22