Jon Stewart is leaving
The Daily Show behind. The host, who's been with the show for more than 15 years, announced his departure during his Tuesday taping.
....
Stewart, who joined the network in 1999, turned the
Daily Show into a phenomenon when he stepped into
Craig Kilborn's former post. It has spent much of the time since as the highest-rated late-night talk show among younger viewers, and it has become one of the most influential political programs in the U.S. — despite its satirical nature.
Talk of Stewart's time at the network coming to an end first bubbled up in 2013 when he took the summer off to direct his
first feature, Rosewater. Upon the film's release last year, Stewart admitted that the job could often be a grind. "I can't say that following the news cycle as closely as we do and trying to convert that into something either joyful or important to us doesn't have its fraught moments," he said. "But there will come a point where I'm sure..."
John Oliver seemed primed for his own vehicle on Comedy Central after pinch-hitting for Stewart during his 2013 break, but he left the network for a deal and weekly series at HBO. Colbert, Oliver and Wilmore all got their biggest exposure from their respective tenures at
The Daily Show. Under Stewart's leadership, it served as an incubator for comedic talent only rivaled by
Saturday Night Live and notably launched the career of
Steve Carell.
If Colbert's exit stung Comedy Central, Stewart's is a sharp blow — albeit an inevitable one.
The Daily Show ranks as the cable network's highest-rated program, dominating its time period with adults 18-49 and young men on the four nights a week that it airs. Comedy Central did not respond to questions about the timing of Stewart's exit or plans for a successor, but Ganeless' statement certainly seems to emphasize the network's faith the in franchise.
