Jon Stewart Shares Simple Reason for His Return to ‘The Daily Show’

Comedian Jon Stewart returns to The Daily Show in the host chair on Feb. 12, marking his grand return to the iconic Daily Show desk nearly a decade after he departed the show to focus on other ventures. The move comes after the end of his Apple TV+ show The Problem With Jon Stewart late last year. Stewart will be filling in as a guest host every Monday through the 2024 election and oversee the show the rest of the week as correspondents split hosting duties. 

When speaking with CBS Mornings about the decision to go back into familiar territory, Stewart explained that the timing seemed perfect for a return to The Daily Show stage. But he said his last gig was also not very keen on him speaking totally unfiltered, as he’s become known for. 

“I very much wanted to have some place to unload thoughts as we get into this election season,” Stewart said. “I thought I was going to do it over at [Apple TV+]. It’s a television enclave, very small. It’s like living in Malibu. They decided, they felt that they didn’t want me to say things that might get me in trouble.”

Stewart went on to say he was looking for an outlet to vent about current events, and downplayed the idea that he and the show can change public sentiment. 

“I don’t know about hoping to have an influence, but I’m hoping to have a catharsis and a way to comment on things and a way to express them that hopefully people will enjoy,” he said. “But as far as influence, and you guys know from doing this, just about everything I had wanted to happen over the 16 years that I was at The Daily Show did not happen, if you were hoping for influence. And I think I’ve learned that post-Daily Show… I don’t really view it as ‘I really want to have an influence on this issue, this election,’ things like that.”

The Daily Show featuring Jon Stewart premieres tonight at 11 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.