Jon Stewart joining John Oliver at HBO, but not with a new show

Clearly, Jon Stewart sees something that he likes with what John Oliver has been up to at HBO with “Last Week Tonight.” Today, the pay-cable network announced in a pretty stunning move that they have signed up the former “Daily Show” host to produce what will effectively be a series of short-form segments designed to mostly air on many of their digital ventures, including HBO NOW and HBO GO. There is also a first-look option for any film / TV projects down the line for the next four years, but for now the goal seems to be creating bite-sized segments, as opposed to some of the lengthy pieces that Oliver does for his show.

In a statement confirming this big news today, network head Michael Lombardo had the following to say:

“Jon Stewart led a revolution that changed the face of TV comedy on the ‘Daily Show.’ He graced our network nearly 20 years ago, so we’re thrilled to welcome back his immense talents in this next chapter of his career.”

Meanwhile, Stewart also added the following message of his own:

“I’m so excited to be working with Richard [Plepler], Michael and the entire HBO family … Appearing on television 22 minutes a night clearly broke me. I’m pretty sure I can produce a few minutes of content every now and again.”

There is no timetable for when Stewart’s work with the network will begin, but in between this hire and getting Bill Simmons aboard after his time with ESPN, it is pretty hard to argue right now that HBO is batting a really high percentage. We’ll just have to wait and see what is coming up for them down the road.

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