Jon Stewart returns to The Daily Show as host and executive producer

CNN
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Jon Stewart returns to The Daily Show.

The comedian, whose 16 years as host of Comedy Central helped make him an entertainment and cultural force, will return to host the show every week on Mondays starting February 12, Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios announced Wednesday.

Stewart, who returns as the 2024 presidential election season heats up, will also produce the show and work with a rotating group of comedians who will run the show the rest of the week, Tuesday through Thursday.

“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 madness and division ravaging the country as we enter election season,” Chris McCarthy, CEO of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios, said in a statement.

“In our age of astonishing hypocrisy and performative politics, John is the perfect person to puncture the empty rhetoric and provide much-needed clarity with his remarkable wit,” McCarthy added.

Stewart gained acclaim when he hosted The Daily Show for the sharp sense of humor he used to deliver acerbic and often funny monologues aimed at exposing the hypocrisy of politicians.

And with the 2024 election featuring Joe Biden and Donald Trump, Stewart will likely have no shortage of material to work with. Stewart has been a vocal critic of Trump and will undoubtedly use the platform to annoy the former president.

Stewart's return to the venerable show is sure to generate major excitement and provide a much-needed boost of buzz to boost the show, which has struggled to find its footing as of late.

After exiting The Daily Show in 2015, Stewart signed a deal with Apple to host a show for the tech company's emerging live streaming service. But that offer ended suddenly last year. Stewart told staff at the time that he had become frustrated with the control the Silicon Valley giant wanted to exercise over the subject matter covered on the show and its guest list.

Convincing Stewart to return to “The Daily Show” is a major coup for Comedy Central. While Trevor Noah received critical acclaim for hosting the program after Stewart's exit, it did not have the same cultural impact it had under Stewart's direction.

The poaching of Stewart is also a win for Paramount Global, which has been trying to breathe life into its Paramount+ streaming service. Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios, which is responsible for much of the broadcast's content library, said episodes with Stewart will be available on the platform the day after they air on Comedy Central.