Jon Stewart has been absent from The Daily Show for nearly a decade now. In a shocking move, it was announced that Stewart would return to the coveted seat once more - every Monday night - until the November election. Guest hosts would make up the other days, but for one night a week, Stewart is back where he belongs.
There was some people who questioned how smooth a transition this would be. Would he be able to comfortably find his footing again, after having not hosted the show for so long? How long would it take for him to find his rhythm again?
The answer was no time at all. Met with a well deserved standing ovation, Stewart wasted no time jumping back into things. After a brief joke about how long it’s been, he didn’t spend time talking about returning. Instead, it was business as usual, as he kicked off the monologue by talking about the Super Bowl.
Jon Stewart's opening monologue for his "Daily Show" return.
Of course, everyone was eagerly awaiting to see what he’d have to say about the current political state. He did not let us down. Within minutes, he was talking about the upcoming 2024 election. Of course, extra attention was paid to the two candidates, Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
Stewart immediately dove right into whether Biden - as well as Trump - is fit for office. At one point, Stewart plainly asks “What the fuck are we doing here, people??”
"Biden's lost a step, but Trump regularly says things at rallies that would warrant a wellness check," Stewart asked. As you can imagine, politics remained a big focus of the night. We imagine it’ll remain that way for future episodes.
Having Stewart return for just one night a week is an excellent strategy for Comedy Central. We’ve all seen that they’ve struggled to find a replacement in the last year. This being an election year, it’d be a massive gamble to take on someone new, and hope they find their footing by November.
This is truly the base case scenario. By having Stewart just host one night and not four, it allows all the best material to rise to the top from the week before. Despite having to play catch-up, when said in Stewart’s signature voice, there’s an undeniable freshness to the material.
Comedy fans can rest easy knowing that - at least for one hour one night a week - everything is exactly as it should be.
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