The Daily Show has done the almost impossible, securing Jon Stewart for a (limited) return engagement after the comic left the show in 2015 following a legendary run that transformed late night, comedy, and Washington DC in ways large and small. Who could have seen this coming? What does it all mean?
Well, we’re gonna take a slight bow here and say that we envisioned the surprising scenario playing out in October when Stewart’s run with Apple TV+ and The Problem With… blew up, reportedly over efforts to stifle Stewart and the show’s reporting. At the time, we didn’t think a long-term reunion made sense for myriad reasons, but a short-term reunion did, giving Stewart a powerful platform against the backdrop of an amazing comeback hero narrative while also alleviating Comedy Central’s commitment issues over picking a Trevor Noah replacement. At least for now. So, here we are, Comedy Papa has returned with presents under his arm, but what does it all mean?
Here are a few flash observations on Stewart’s return and what it means for the show, the late night comedy landscape, and perhaps even the 2024 Presidential Election.
Stewart Is Coming Back “Through The 2024 Election”
While the actual election takes place on November 5th, there’s no way this is going to all neatly wrap up in November. So when THR reports that Stewart is coming back through the election, I assume that means the election, the weeks of legal challenges, the vote certification, any attempted insurrections, and whatever ensuing trials follow. Not trying to be glib: short of Biden beating Trump in an undeniably massive electoral drubbing or the latter being bound in a jail cell, this shitshow is gonna run long, and if Stewart is signing up to hold our hand through the worst of it, he better plan on being tied up through January, at least.
Stewart’s Coming Back… On Mondays Only
The one-day-a-week thing makes sense with Stewart coming off of that schedule with The Problem With I do wonder if this means that the Monday shows will be somewhat different than the Tuesday-Thursday shows that will be hosted by the correspondents. As in, will we see that show’s vibe repeated with more longform angles and deeper dives? Time will tell on that, but I also don’t know that I buy the idea that Stewart’s part-time status will hold for long, especially as we get closer to the election. If there are actual debates, is Jon Stewart going to sit on the sidelines while someone else runs point on the episodes that follow? I’m not saying he’s hosting every night as we get closer to the election, but I think there’s a good chance this becomes much more than a one-day-a-week gig for him. Especially since he’s not coming back purely as a hired gun, but as an executive producer as well.
It Was Time
The Daily Show for sure benefited from the rotating lineup of guest hosts, but it was well past time for the show to switch gears and move toward the next stage of this thing. When I spoke with now-former Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr. just after he had done his guest host spot, he was talking about the need for the show to have someone in that chair on a consistent basis.
“I’m team host. (Laughs) I get why doing the guest host thing could be cheaper in perpetuity, and could be better ratings in perpetuity, but sooner or later, you’re going to catch the wrong host during the wrong tragedy. And it’s going to be weird.”
There is no way the show could have continued on through the election like this and maintained legitimacy. Credit to showrunner Jennifer Flanz and the entire team for making the show work during the guest host Olympics. There were some definite high moments: Wood Jr’s week, Jordan Klepper’s week, Leslie Jones and Desus Nice did great work and had fun with it. But there were other weeks that fell flat (Al Franken’s week, Charlamagne Tha God’s week) and which seemed over-influenced by the whims of that week’s host instead of operating from a central ethos, sort of like SNL. Again, the producer thing comes up. Stewart is hosting on Mondays, but that EP title might indicate his presence as the provider of that central ethos, or at least someone who will have a seat at the table. This is a good thing.
This Is Great For The Correspondents
The headline is that Stewart is coming back, but correspondents like Dulce Sloan, Klepper, Desi Lydic, Michael Kosta, and Ronny Chieng are going to get a lot of face time leading the show and it’s going to be great for the show and those specific talents. With that, I’d be a little stunned if, when Stewart walks away again, they don’t quickly anoint someone from those ranks to takeover, eschewing yet another guest host derby. On the other hand…
A Year Is A Long Time
It’s hard to forecast out what happens to The Daily Show post Jon part deux. So much can and will happen in a year, but its interesting to think about this as a reset. Is that enough time for the air to clear over Hasan Minhaj’s, what are we calling that, #ExaggerateGate? Certainly, there are more dimensions to that story now than there were when it broke. It would not be surprising if, between then and now, Minhaj releases a new comedy special that shifts the narrative. It would also not be surprising if Roy Wood Jr. makes his way back to the show as a viable host option. I wasn’t shy about proclaiming that it was time for Roy to get the gig (like a week before he stepped away from his role on the show) and every bit of that case still stands… assuming he’d still want it.
Is Jon Stewart Going To Save Democracy?
The short answer is no. No comedian could. No journalist could. No hybrid of those two roles will. When we spoke with Wood Jr. and Klepper a couple of weeks ago, Roy mentioned a great Mike Birbiglia line about people needing to accept the premise for a joke to work. As he pointed out, this country is extremely divided. With that you’re not going to easily change hearts and minds with facts or by exposing and highlighting hypocrisy. 2024 isn’t 2004. We’re inundated by information, confused as to the sourcing and which sources to even believe. We’re tired. We’re wired. And we’re increasingly dug in, our political views woven tightly into our personalities and our emotions.
Maybe you galvanize some people with powerful messaging and stories (No one is better, in the political comedy space than Stewart when it comes to distilling the news and serving back an easy-to-digest message equal parts funny and thought-provoking), switching on their willingness to vote and give a damn. Maybe. But there is no way a comedy news story alters this election significantly (with the possible exception of something getting under Trump’s papyrus-like skin and causing him to spiral). There are limits to Stewart’s power, which is something I think some people lost sight of his first time around.
Okay, Will It Be A Success?
I think the show will be good — the talent (not just Stewart and not just on screen) is too big for it not to be, the experience too vast to not be a factor. Will the show be relevant? That’s a different question. This is the biggest surprise in late night since Leno came back to take the Tonight Show from Conan. People (well, TV critics) are going to be talking about this and it’s going to get people curious to see what this version of the show looks like. But eventually, that interest will fade and it will be about creating moments that can somehow pull people in.
Stewart is going to need to eviscerate a few hollow politicians verbally, he’s gonna have to go bigger than ever when it comes to his messaging and the show’s ambitions when it comes to field pieces. Again, 2024 isn’t 2004. There are so many places where people get their information, so many places where it gets distilled and satirized. Stewart and company will do it best, but will they do it biggest and quickest? It matters, and so time will tell if they’re able to make this huge bet pay off as something more than a nice bit of early aughts nostalgia that makes people feel better than they probably should.