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Jon Stewart is set to take over hosting The Daily Show once again, in a surprise move announced by Comedy Central.
On Wednesday (January 24), Comedy Central announced that veteran comic Jon Stewart would return to take the helm of The Daily Show. Stewart, who was the late-night program’s original host from 1999 until his departure in 2015, will be behind the desk through the end of the 2024 presidential election cycle. Stewart confirmed the news with a humorous post on X, formerly Twitter writing: “Friends. After much reflection, I have decided to enter the transfer portal for my last year of eligibility. Excited for the future!”

Stewart is slated to host the Monday episodes of The Daily Show, with other members of the news team rotating as hosts throughout the rest of the week. Stewart will also sign on as a producer of the show’s episodes. His last show was taped just hours before the first Republican presidential debate in 2016, which was the beginning of the rise of future President Donald Trump. “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 Paramount Senior Executive Chris McCarthy in a statement.
The move ends swirling speculation as to who would take over as host of The Daily Show after Trevor Noah’s departure towards the end of 2022. Since then, the program has had numerous guest hosts, including correspondent Roy Wood Jr. who would also make his departure last year. The comedian was on stage at the Emmy Awards last week as The Daily Show took home the award for the best talk show, mouthing the words “Please hire a host”. Stewart’s own Apple TV+ show, The Problem, was one of the competitors who lost out. He exited the show before the third season was to go into production, citing differences with Apple executives when it came to covering issues such as artificial intelligence and the influence of China on world affairs.