CNN –
Jon Stewart returns to “The Daily Show.”
The comedian, who established Comedy Central as an entertainment and cultural powerhouse during his 16-year run as host of the Comedy Central program, will return to host the show on Mondays each week beginning Feb. 12, Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios announced Wednesday .
Stewart, who returns at the start of the 2024 presidential election season, will also serve as the show's executive producer, working with a rotating cast of comedians who will headline the program the rest of the week, Tuesdays through Thursdays.
“Stewart is the voice of our generation, and we are honored to have him return to Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show' to help us all understand the madness and division that is rocking the country as election season begins.” Chris McCarthy, the chief executive of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios, said in a statement.
“In our age of shocking hypocrisy and performative politics,” McCarthy added, “Jon is the perfect person to cut through the empty rhetoric and provide much-needed clarity with his brilliant wit.”
Stewart gained recognition as host of “The Daily Show” for his sharp sense of humor, delivering biting – and hilarious – monologues often aimed at exposing the hypocrisy of politicians.
With the 2024 election featuring Joe Biden and Donald Trump, Stewart likely won't be short of material to work with. Stewart has been a strong critic of Trump and will no doubt use the platform to lambast the former president.
Stewart's return to the venerable show is sure to generate great excitement and provide much-needed excitement to inject new life into the show, which has struggled to find its footing of late.
After exiting “The Daily Show” in 2015, Stewart signed a deal with Apple to host a show for the tech company's emerging streaming service. But that show ended abruptly last year. Stewart told employees at the time that he was becoming increasingly frustrated with the control the Silicon Valley giant wanted to exert over the topics covered on the show and the guest list.
Convincing Stewart to return to “The Daily Show” is a major coup for Comedy Central. Although Trevor Noah received critical acclaim for hosting the program following Stewart's exit, it never quite had the same cultural impact as it did under Stewart's leadership.
Poaching Stewart is also a win for Paramount Global, which is trying to breathe life into its streaming service Paramount+. Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios, which are responsible for much of the streamer's content library, announced that episodes featuring Stewart will be available on the platform the day after they air on Comedy Central.