Jon Stewart returns to spotlight with a series for Apple TV+

After five years out of the TV spotlight, Jon Stewart will have his own show again.

Stewart, the former anchor of The Daily Show, has reached a deal to host a current-affairs series for Apple TV+, the company announced on Tuesday (US time).

Jon Stewart wrapped up an 11-season run as host of The Daily Show in 2015.
Jon Stewart wrapped up an 11-season run as host of The Daily Show in 2015.Credit:AP

Apple TV+ said it had ordered the series for multiple seasons. It will feature one-hour episodes, each dedicated to a single topic. Apple did not describe the format — whether it would be an interview series or something closer to John Oliver’s weekly HBO series — or specify how many episodes it would have per season. Apple did not set a premiere date, either.

But Apple did say that Stewart’s new show “will explore topics that are currently part of the national conversation and his advocacy work.” Stewart has been outspoken about the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, for instance.

Advertisement

Stewart left Comedy Central’s The Daily Show in 2015 after a deliriously successful run that started in 1999. His version of the show won the Emmy for best talk or variety series 11 times. In the years since he left, he has returned to television sporadically with appearances on Stephen Colbert’s CBS late-night show. (Stewart is a producer of that series.)

Stewart has been off the air for almost the entirety of Donald Trump’s improbable political rise. His final episode of The Daily Show was taped a few hours before Trump’s debut at the first Republican debate in August 2015. Since he has been away from the desk, other late-night hosts have found success with political satire, often leading their shows with monologues critical of the president.

Trevor Noah has put his own imprint on The Daily Show. Colbert is the most-viewed host in late night. And Oliver’s Last Week Tonight has won the Emmy for best talk show for five consecutive years.

Stewart previously made a deal with HBO in 2015 to make a topical animated series that never came to fruition. Eighteen months into that arrangement, HBO said there were “technical issues in terms of production and distribution that proved too difficult.”

Stewart wrote and directed the film Irresistible, a political satire starring Steve Carell and Rose Byrne that made its debut in June. It received decidedly mixed reviews.

The Apple TV+ show will be produced by Stewart’s Busboy Productions and Richard Plepler’s Eden Productions. Plepler, who was chief executive of HBO when the network made Stewart’s deal, has had a production deal with Apple TV+ since late last year. Stewart’s longtime manager, James Dixon, will also be a producer of the series.

The New York Times

Market Recap

A concise wrap of the day on the markets, breaking business news and expert opinion delivered to your inbox each afternoon. Sign up for the Herald‘s here and The Age‘s here.

Most Viewed in Business

Source: Thanks smh.com