Jon Stewart will return to ‘The Daily Show’ as host

NEW YORK (AP) — Comedian Jon Stewart is rewinding the clock, returning to “The Daily Show” as an occasional host and executive producing through the 2024 U.S. elections cycle.

Comedy Central on Wednesday said Stewart will host the topical TV show, the perch he ruled for 16 years starting in 1999, every Monday starting Feb. 12. A rotating line-up of show regulars are on tap for the rest of the week.

“Jon Stewart is the voice of our generation, and we are honored to have him return to Comedy Central’s The Daily Show to help us all make sense of the insanity and division roiling the country as we enter the election season,” Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, said in a statement. “In our age of staggering hypocrisy and performative politics, Jon is the perfect person to puncture the empty rhetoric and provide much-needed clarity with his brilliant wit.”

Over the years, “The Daily Show” — first hosted by Craig Kilborn, then Stewart and Trevor Noah — has skewered the left and right by making the media a character and playing it absolutely straight, no matter how ridiculous. The show, which won an Emmy Award this month for best talk series, has not had a permanent host since Noah left last year.

The show’s long-term legacy as a talent incubator is sterling, becoming a launching pad for the likes of Aasif Mandvi, John Oliver, Larry Wilmore, Jordan Klepper and Samantha Bee.

Recently, Stewart’s “The Problem With Jon Stewart” was canceled on Apple’s streaming service.

Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press