Jon Stewart is leaving The Daily Show by the end of the year–as he announced to his audience at today’s taping. The official statement from Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless…
For the better part of the last two decades, I have had the incredible honor and privilege of working with Jon Stewart. His comedic brilliance is second to none. Jon has been at the heart of Comedy Central, championing and nurturing the best talent in the industry, in front of and behind the camera. Through his unique voice and vision, The Daily Show has become a cultural touchstone for millions of fans and an unparalleled platform for political comedy that will endure for years to come. He is a comic genius, generous with his time and talent, and will always be a part of the Comedy Central family.
The really weird thing about this is Jon Stewart passing on The Late Show, and letting Stephen Colbert take over the hosting duties. Most people figured that was just confirmation that Stewart really wanted to cover the 2016 elections.
There’s going to be a lot of speculation now about Stewart’s next move. He did okay with his directorial film debut of Rosewater, but it wasn’t a huge hit on the indie circuit. It’s hard to imagine that Stewart isn’t going to take a pay cut of some sort with his next project. Oh, well. Speculation is fun.
Now here’s a full minute of Jon Stewart getting big laffs by just staring at the Daily Show audience…
