Paramount didn’t want to keep Stephen Colbert at CBS, but the company has signed Jon Stewart for another year of hosting “The Daily Show” once per week on Comedy Central.
Stewart will continue to serve as executive producer for the series through December 2026, the company said Monday, with the show’s pack of contributors taking the helm of the late-night program Tuesday through Thursday.
“Jon Stewart continues to elevate the genre he created. His return is an ongoing commitment to the incisive comedy and sharp commentary that define ‘ Daily Show,’” said Ari Pearce, head of Comedy Centra, in a statement. “The renewal is a win for audiences, for Comedy Central and for all our programming partners. We’re proud to support Jon and the extraordinary news team.”
Stewart’s renewal comes at a fraught moment for late-night TV. Paramount’s CBS is getting out of the format, and shocked the industry earlier this year by announcing its intention to cancel Colbert’s “Late Show” in May of next year. Disney recently sidelined Jimmy Kimmel for a few days after some of his monologue remarks spurred two of his nation’s largest TV-station owners to threaten not to broadcast his ABC program, “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
Late-night shows have been grappling with the erosion of their traditional audiences, who can increasingly watch clips of the programs the following day via social media rather then having to stay up late to view them live. The shows have also come under scrutiny during President Trump’s two terms in office, with many of the hosts using barbed humor to lash out at various White House policies and pronouncements.
“Daily Show” may have added appeal to Paramount because its cost structure has been revamped. The program does not rely on a single host, though Stewart, who left the program in 2015, and returned to it in 2024, commands much of the spotlight. Stewart hosts only on Mondays, with a ersatz “news team” comprised of Ronny Chieng, Josh Johnson, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta, Desi Lydic, Troy Iwata and Grace Kuhlenschmidt, taking up more on screen duties on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. on occasion holding forth on other days of the week.
The program is one of only a handful of original series on the network, which may have also bolstered its case. In the past, advertisers have typically had to buy a bigger package of Comedy Central commercial inventory in order to get spots on “Daily,” according to people familiar with the matter. In other words, “Daily Show” has served as an economic force at Paramount’s cable properties, even as they have suffered viewer erosion in the streaming era.
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Stewart is slated to continue in his role as executive producer, working with showrunner and executive producer Jen Flanz as well as his manager, James Dixon, who also has a producer role at the series.
From Variety US