The Daily Show’s Last Line of Defense: Jon Stewart Just Secured His Seat Through the End of 2026—Here’s Why It Matters Now.NH
Jon Stewart will not be leaving The Daily Showanytime soon, with the comedian confirmed to keep hosting the show in 2026.
As he’s done since his return in 2024, Stewart will host the satirical news program on Mondays, with other members of The Daily Show team — Ronny Chieng, Josh Johnson, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta, and Desi Lydic — taking over during the rest of the week. Stewart will also stay on as an executive producer of The Daily Show.
“Jon Stewart continues to elevate the genre he created,” Comedy Central’s head, Ari Pearce, said in a statement. “His return is an ongoing commitment to the incisive comedy and sharp commentary that define The Daily Show … We’re proud to support Jon and the extraordinary news team.”
The news comes just a week after Stewart was asked about his contract situation during an appearance at the New Yorker Festival. With his contract up in December, Stewart confirmed he wanted to extend his second tenure at The Daily Show, adding that he was “working on staying.”
While The Daily Show has enjoyed a new round of accolades and ratings success since Stewart’s return, there were some question marks hanging over his future due to recent late-night TV upheavals during the second Trump administration. While that included Jimmy Kimmel’s controversial suspension in September, more relevant was CBS’ surprise decision this summer to cancel The Late Show, which is hosted by Stewart’s old colleague Stephen Colbert.
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CBS shares a parent company with Comedy Central, Paramount, which at the time was trying to secure government approval for a merger with Skydance. CBS insisted the decision to cancel The Late Show was financial, though many speculated it was done under pressure from the Trump admininstration due to Colbert’s frequent criticisms of Trump.
Stewart, of course, slammed the decision in a scathing opening monologue: “If you’re trying to figure out why Stephen’s show is ending, I don’t think the answer can be found in some smoking gun email or phone call from Trump to CBS executives or in CBS’ QuickBooks spreadsheets on the financial health of late night,” he said. “I think the answer is in the fear and pre-compliance that is gripping all of America’s institutions at this very moment, institutions that have chosen not to fight the vengeful and vindictive actions of our pubic-hair doodling commander in chief. This is not the moment to give in.”
