The TV Column

Politics-weary Stewart ready for 'Daily Show' exit

Jon Stewart will end his "Daily Show" tenure Thursday at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.
Jon Stewart will end his "Daily Show" tenure Thursday at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.

And now, your last four moments of Zen.

It’s a sad time for quality TV — this is the final week for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The 52-year-old Stewart will exit stage left with his final show of fake news at 10 p.m. Thursday on Comedy Central.

Fake, yes, but brilliant satire, moral outrage and political commentary that held the ring of truth far more often than not.

Why leave now? Short answer: Stewart is burned out. He’s tired. He’s been there and done that multiple times.

In announcing his departure in February, Stewart said, “In my heart, I know it is time for someone else. This show doesn’t deserve even a slightly restless host, and neither do you.”

In an April interview with The Guardian, Stewart made it clear that the current presidential election cycle just didn’t put the fire in his belly anymore. In fact, it promises to be deja vu all over again.

About leaving, he said, “Honestly, it was a combination of the limitations of my brain and a format that is geared towards following an increasingly redundant … political process.

“I’d covered an election four times, and it didn’t appear that there was going to be anything wildly different about this one.”

In addition, Stewart noted that trolling the news channels for show fodder had grown tiresome. “Watching these channels all day is incredibly depressing. I live in a constant state of depression.”

That’s more understandable given that a good chunk of his material comes from the talking heads at Fox News. Sometimes entire episodes revolved around the latest inanity at Fox. That’ll exhaust anybody.

There is no love lost there. The Guardian asked if, now that he won’t have to, he’ll ever watch Fox News again, Stewart said, “Let’s say that it’s a nuclear winter, and I have been wandering, and there appears to be a flickering light through what appears to be a radioactive cloud and I think that light might be a food source that could help my family. I might glance at it for a moment until I realize that’s Fox News, and then I shut it off. That’s the circumstance.”

Stewart, who was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, took over as The Daily Show host in 1999 when Craig Kilborn (remember him?) left to replace Tom Snyder on CBS’ The Late Late Show.

Before his current gig, the New York native was a standup comedian and host of several programs on Comedy Central and MTV. But he was born to host The Daily Show.

Proof: Under his tenure, The Daily Show has had a distinguished list of correspondents, including Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Steve Carell, Rob Corddry, Ed Helms, Mo Rocca, Larry Wilmore, and Stewart’s named successor, Trevor Noah.

Former President Bill Clinton has been on The Daily Show 10 times, and President Barack Obama was recently on for the seventh time.

Quality? According to its website, The Daily Show has been nominated for 50 Emmys, winning 19. The show won two prestigious Peabody Awards for its coverage of the presidential elections in 2000 and 2004, and even won a Grammy for the audio book edition of America (The Book).

I met Stewart once in Beverly Hills when the Television Critics Association gave The Daily Show its award for Outstanding Achievement in News and Information in 2004. The series won the honor over traditional news programs in the category.

“You do realize we’re a fake news show?” Stewart chided the critics. He seemed genuinely miffed to accept the award for that category. But the critics, in their wisdom, were pointing out a fact that perhaps Stewart has come to accept in the 11 years since.

With its intelligent, biting commentary and rapier wit, The Daily Show reaches more young people than traditional news outlets. For good or ill, The Daily Show is a primary source of TV news for many. That’s why the series won the award in that category.

As for whether the show will survive without him, Stewart told The Guardian, “If Oprah can leave and the world still spins, I honestly think it will survive me.”

Trevor Noah. The South African comedian has been tapped as the next host of The Daily Show. His duties begin Sept. 28.

Noah joined The Daily Show in 2014 as a contributor. He has made numerous talk show appearances as a comic and has hosted several programs, including a late-night talk show in South Africa, Tonight With Trevor Noah.

Key & Peele. Comedy Central has announced that its sketch comedy series Key & Peele will end in September at the conclusion of Season 5.

The series, which has won a Peabody Award, stars Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele. They plan to explore other things.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:

mstorey@arkansasonline.com

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