Jon Stewart Returns to ‘Daily Show’ Almost a Decade After Exiting Show

The Daily Show is serving up a blast from the past with former host Jon Stewart returning on Monday nights throughout the 2024 election cycle. Stewart will host the talk show on Monday night and will be an executive producer on the series as a whole. He will be back on the air starting on Monday, Feb. 12.

“Jon Stewart is the voice of our generation, and we are honored to have him return to Comedy Central’s The Daily Show to help us all make sense of the insanity and division roiling the country as we enter the election season,” said executive Chris McCarthy alongside this announcement. “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.”

Stewart hosted The Daily Show from 1998 to 2015 and is considered by many the most iconic face of the show to date. Comedian Trevor Noah took over from there and hosted until 2022, when he left to focus on stand-up comedy and touring, as well as producingcontent behind the scenes. Comedy Central considered some big changes to The Daily Show after that – with some raising doubts about whether the show would even continue at all. Various comedians served as guest hosts for the show throughout 2023, and Comedy Central said that it was in no rush to find a single permanent replacement host – if ever.

The new plan is for Stewart to host on Mondays while correspondents take turns hosting on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. According to a report by Variety, Executive producer Jen Flanz will continue overseeing the show. The Daily Show is reportedly facing pressure to meet the challenge of another national election – perhaps one of the most divisive ever.

Since his departure from The Daily Show, Stewart hosted a new show called The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+. The series did not gain quite as much traction as others in the space and it was canceled after two seasons. However, The New York Times reported that ratings weren’t the only reason – insiders said that Apple executives were not happy with the way Stewart covered the Chinese government or the development of artificial intelligence.

Stewart is expected to attract new and returning fans to The Daily Show with his Monday night hosting duties, and excitement is already growing on social media. Stewart’s first night on The Daily Show will be Monday, Feb. 12 on Comedy Central at 11 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.