Jon Stewart to Continue Hosting ’The Daily Show’ through 2026
Jon Stewart intends to remain at the helm of The Daily Show beyond his current contract,revealing to The new Yorker’s David remnick last month,”We’re working on staying.” The news comes amid uncertainty surrounding the future of late-night programming at Paramount, and following a prosperous return to the show in early 2024.
Stewart initially signed a one-year deal this time last year to host the program on Mondays,alongside contributors Ronny Chieng,Jordan Klepper,Michael Kosta,Desi Lydic,and Josh Johnson,who host the remaining nights. His continued presence is a important boost for Comedy Central, which lauded Stewart’s ability to “elevate the genre he created,” and comes as The daily Show experiences strong ratings and recently secured its best Emmy nominations haul to date, including a win for Desi Lydic.
The potential for Stewart’s departure was fueled by Paramount’s decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, of which Stewart is an executive producer. Stewart publicly expressed his frustration with the move, telling his employer to “go fck yourself” in the immediate aftermath and questioning whether new owners Skydance, led by David ellison, would even “let us back in the building” after a summer hiatus.
Despite these concerns,stewart acknowledged the internal conflict in his *New Yorker interview,stating,”[Paramount have] already done things that I’m upset about.But then if I had integrity, maybe I would stand up and go, ‘I’m out.’ Or maybe the integrity thing to do would be to stay in it and keep fighting in the foxhole.”
Stewart executive produces The Daily Show with showrunner Jen Flanz and his manager, James ‘Baby Doll’ Dixon. Ari Pearce,Head of Comedy Central,affirmed the network’s support,stating the renewal is “a win for audiences…and for all our programming partners.”
