Jon Stewart Says ‘Every day Present’ Return Was Prompted by Eager to Have a “Place to Unload Ideas” Forward of 2024 Election

Jon Stewart is opening up about his highly anticipated return as host of Comedy Central’s The Every day Present, almost 9 years after leaving the nightly gig.

Showing on Monday’s CBS Mornings earlier than returning as Every day Present host on Mondays by means of the 2024 election, Stewart stated it was indeed the political environment that brought him back, whereas additionally sharing that the transfer was influenced by his departure from Apple TV+ over creative differences.

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“I very a lot wished to have some place to unload ideas as we get into this election season,” Stewart stated, then referring to The Downside With Jon Stewart not transferring ahead with a 3rd season on the streamer. “I assumed I used to be going to do it over at — they name it Apple TV+. It’s a tv enclave, very small. It’s like dwelling in Malibu. They determined, they felt that they didn’t need me to say issues that may get me in bother.”

Although he has ideas, Stewart, becoming a member of hosts Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson for an in-studio interview, was modest concerning the affect that his model of the present may have on real-world occasions.

“I don’t learn about hoping to have an affect, however I’m hoping to have a catharsis and a solution to touch upon issues and a solution to specific them that hopefully individuals will get pleasure from,” he stated. “However so far as affect, and also you guys know from doing this, nearly all the pieces I had wished to occur over the 16 years that I used to be at The Every day Present didn’t occur, should you had been hoping for affect. And I believe I’ve discovered that post-Every day Present … I don’t actually view it as ‘I actually wish to have an affect on this challenge, this election,’ issues like that.”

Simply weeks after the 2016 presidential election, Stewart had a similar approach talking at an occasion in New York, rapidly rejecting arguments put forth on-line that his model of The Every day Present may have influenced the outcomes.

“We had been the destroyers of males and creators of empires,” Stewart joked on the time. “I believe that usually is satire’s position and has all the time been: the rise and fall of civilization at our whim.”

Forward of his Monday return, Stewart additionally spoke with The Every day Present‘s Ears Version podcast about why he wished to come back again now.

“If you wish to be current on this world, it’s important to be current on this dialog and it’s important to be as relentless and as tenacious because the counter-narrative that’s being shaped. A lot of the knowledge that we see now could be weaponized … and it retains taking exponential leaps,” he stated. “It’s not simply the election. It’s AI. It’s the best way that we’ve militarized all our conflicts. All of it ties collectively to 1 bigger concept, which is the type of authorities we love a lot is an analog — I don’t wish to say dinosaur — however it’s analog and the world now strikes at an more and more infinite digital tempo and reconciling these two issues, I believe, is the problem of the second for individuals.”

On CBS Mornings, Stewart additionally spoke about returning to the cable program because the media panorama has modified since he left The Every day Present in 2015, with Burleson arguing that many younger individuals are getting their information from locations like TikTok and different types of social media.

“Usually, I will probably be doing it with choreographed dance strikes,” Stewart joked of how that shift would have an effect on his method, earlier than turning critical and arguing that high quality content material will discover an viewers. “Info is data, and if it’s good content material individuals will discover their solution to it,” he stated. “I believe the worst factor you are able to do is pander to this concept that younger individuals take up data and knowledge in a wholly completely different means.”

It was introduced final month that, by means of the 2024 election, Stewart would return as host of The Every day Present, on Monday nights solely, beginning Feb. 12. The remainder of the week, the collection will probably be hosted by a rotating crew of its correspondents, which embody Jordan Klepper, Desi Lydic, Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta and Dulcé Sloan.

Nevertheless, Stewart will probably be an govt producer on the opposite nights as nicely, permitting the previous host to be closely concerned within the present main as much as the election and even past, with Stewart’s deal protecting him in place as an govt producer by means of at the very least 2025.

Stewart’s return comes as The Every day Present continues to seek for a everlasting alternative for Stewart’s successor, Trevor Noah, who unexpectedly exited the hosting gig in 2022.

Whereas Stewart was reluctant to speak extra on CBS Mornings about why he was solely returning on Mondays, that set-up doubtless made his return extra interesting because the host was overtly exhausted by the tip of his preliminary run. Kicking off the week additionally permits him to set the agenda for the subsequent few days and touch upon a weekend’s value of stories.

And the company synergy of an look on one other community, like Comedy Central, owned by Paramount World didn’t go unnoticed by Stewart.

After King issued a disclaimer concerning the networks’ mutual company dad or mum, Stewart was fast to quip, “Who’s received the tote bag? Paramount World tote bag.”

“I assumed it was known as Viacom,” he added of the conglomerate, earlier than joking, “It’s simply billionaires transferring us round on a Stratego board.”

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