Comedy Central will continue ‘The Daily Show,’ no specific succession plan yet
It was just yesterday that we, and most of the internet, were shocked with the news that Jon Stewart was going to be saying farewell to “The Daily Show” after so many years at the helm. This is a man who has brought unprecedented success to Comedy Central, and yet, in some ways, we should have seen this coming. Stewart’s contract with the network runs out in September, and according to a piece from The Hollywood Reporter, there were not many expectations that he would ultimately sign a new deal.
Speaking to the website, the network’s president Michele Ganeless made it clear that they have “never been in a better position to find the next great voice,” but they did not make it clear who that voice would be. While the idea clearly seems to be to continue “The Daily Show” much like “The Tonight Show” does whenever they bring in a new host, there is no direct plan for a successor yet. There seems to be interest in keeping the format for the most part, though, so we would rule out people who are slightly less politically-minded.
The hard thing about this gig is that in order to do it properly, you have to be reasonably okay with you having a specific political viewpoint out there. You also need the passion and the hunger to do it. There is a huge part of us begging to see someone like Tina Fey in this role, but she may not even have an interest. She’s already had a wonderful career to this point, and with her production company she may not even have the time.
We know that a list of contenders will probably be out there throughout the weeks and months ahead, and we expect people like Fey, Amy Poehler, current correspondents Jason Jones, Samantha Bee, and Jessica Wiilliams, other Comedy Central personalities, and others to populate the list. We’d almost advocate doing dozens of test shows. You need to be funny, but you also need to be authoritative. That is not an easy combination for anyone.
what do you think should happen with the show next? Share with a comment, and head over here to get some other updates on everything we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Comedy Central.)