‘The Daily Show’ to go without Jon Stewart this summer; John Oliver to step in

For eight weeks this summer, it’s going to be “The Daily Show with John Oliver” on Comedy Central. Why? For the first time since Jon Stewart took over the program back in the late 1990s, he is going to be taking a little bit of a back seat for a few months in order to work on something completely different.

According to a brand-new report from Deadline, Stewart is going to be gone from the show for twelve weeks in order to direct the movie “Rosewater,” which is an adaptation he wrote based on the book Then They Came For Me: A Family’s Story Of Love, Captivity And Survival, which revolves around the imprisonment of a man in Iran shortly after he went there merely to cover the Presidential elections in the country back in 2009. This man, whose name is Maziar Bahari, was held captive in the country for more than 110 days.

This move may certainly come as a surprise to many, especially given Stewart’s history as a comedian first and foremost. However, he has shown a strong political viewpoint many times on “The Daily Show” over the years, and has also been unafraid to have confrontations with many of his guests on a wide myriad of subjects.

Stewart has not been the only host on “The Daily Show” over the years, as the show was originally hosted by Craig Kilborn upon its launch in the mid-nineties. Stewart then took over a few years later, and he has used then-correspondent Rob Corddry before as a last-minute host in the past.

What do you think about Oliver hosting “The Daily Show” for eight weeks, and do you think that he has certainly earned his stripes? In case you care curious, four of the twelve weeks in which Stewart is absent will be spent in repeats.

Photo: Comedy Central