Former The Daily Show host Jon Stewart has signed a multiyear deal with Apple TV+ to write, star in, and produce a current affairs show that Apple and Stewart expect to run for multiple seasons, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.
Five years ago, comedian and commentator Jon Stewart departed his role hosting Comedy Central's The Daily Show—just a year before his audience would have wanted him most, many have observed.
Since then, he has occasionally appeared to do small and infrequent segments on his former colleague Stephen Colbert's The Late Show on CBS, appeared in some media interviews, directed one film, and did a comedy tour with fellow topical comedian Dave Chapelle. Mostly, though, he has lived the family life at his farm in New Jersey.
This would be Stewart's first regular TV commitment after his apparent retirement in 2015. The Hollywood Reporter describes Apple's arrangement with Stewart as "an expansive, multi-year deal," which will also give Apple dibs on other projects Stewart may develop.According to the report, the new show will have an hour-long format, and each episode will focus on a specific issue of public concern. THR also says that Stewart will be "back in the anchor's chair," suggesting that the show will retain the newsdesk format of The Daily Show (which is now hosted by Trevor Noah) and its now-many imitators.
The series is expected to debut next year.
Apple TV+ seemed to observers to have a quiet and uneventful debut in November 2019. But since then, the network has seen a few critical and public successes—most recently Ted Lasso, a heartwarming sports comedy starring Saturday Night Live's Jason Sudeikis.
The streaming network was recently nominated for 18 Emmy Awards but lost out to HBO in many categories. Apple walked away with just one win: a supporting actor award went to Billy Crudup for his performance in The Morning Show.
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