Jon Stewart Returns with Current Affairs Series on Apple TV+

As part of an expansive, multiyear deal with Apple, the multiple Emmy Award-winning former The Daily Show host is set to front an all-new current affairs series for the streaming service. The show, which will run for multiple seasons, puts Stewart back in the anchor’s chair as he explores a host of topics at the center of both the national conversation and his own advocacy work.

The still-untitled show, which will feature hourlong, single-subject episodes, will be executive produced by Stewart through his company Busboy Productions. In his role as EP, he’ll be joined by his longtime manager James Dixon and former HBO chief Richard Plepler, who via his EDEN Productions also has a rich deal at Apple. A showrunner for the forthcoming series, for which Apple is expected to offer a companion podcast, has yet to be named.

For Apple, nabbing Stewart’s Daily Show follow-up is a major coup. In his nearly two decades as host of the Comedy Central series, he earned 20 Emmys – including 10 consecutive outstanding variety series wins – and almost single-handedly redefined political satire in American culture. Though Stewart’s new entry won’t have a nightly or even weekly cadence, it’s poised to thrust Apple TV+ into the national dialogue in a richer way. In that effort, it joins another timely interviews series, The Oprah Conversation, at the streamer.

Also part of the pact: Stewart and his Busboy Productions will have a first-look deal for other projects to be developed and produced for Apple. To date, Stewart's resume includes producing credits on The Colbert Report, which he co-created with host Stephen Colbert, and CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, as well as on a pair of films: Rosewater (2014) and 2020’s Irresistible, starring Daily Show vet Steve Carell, both which he directed as well.

Since Stewart's much-ballyhooed Daily Show sign-0ff in 2015, he has kept a relatively low profile, save the occasional PR appearance for a new project or for his advocacy work on behalf of 9/11 first responders and the country’s wounded veterans. And until recently, he had had a long-term production deal at HBO, where he had a first-look deal and was quietly prepping a timely, animated shortform series, which he and HBO ultimately pulled the plug on for technical reasons. While sources say HBO made a play for Stewart’s latest on-air foray, the latter ultimately landed at Apple, where it's expected to begin rolling out next year.

October 28, 2020