While standing onstage to accept The Daily Show‘s 2024 Emmy for Best Writing for a Variety Series, comedian Roy Wood Jr. turned heads by mouthing “please hire a host” in the background. The moment came after a yearlong search for Trevor Noah’s replacement, during which The Daily Show was hosted by a rotating cast of guests, Wood included. (Wood, a potential permanent host himself, left The Daily Show after not being offered the role.)
On Jan. 24, Comedy Central answered Wood’s Emmy plea with the announcement of a (kind of) new, (kind of) permanent host: Jon Stewart. Host of The Daily Show from 1999 to 2015, Stewart returns to the news desk on Feb. 12. He’ll be hosting on Monday nights through the 2024 election, and will also be serving as an executive producer. On the nights when Stewart isn’t hosting, The Daily Show‘s correspondents — the current lineup of which includes Jordan Klepper, Desi Lydic, Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta, and Dulcé Sloan — will run the show.
The news comes months after Stewart walked away from his AppleTV+ show The Problem, when disagreements reportedly arose between Stewart and Apple about episodes covering China and AI.
“Jon 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 make sense of the insanity and division roiling the country as we enter the election season,” Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, said in a statement.
Stewart tweeted that he is “excited for the future,” while the official Daily Show X account posted one simple image of Stewart back on set for a Moment of Zen.