For Daily Show devotees, an election without Jon Stewart's input seems unthinkable. For Stewart, however, it was unthinkable to cover yet another election. And thus, he's won't be.
The departing host explained his motivations for leaving the Comedy Central show in a new interview with Hadley Freeman in yesterday's Guardian Weekend magazine.
"It’s not like I thought the show wasn’t working any more, or that I didn’t know how to do it," the 52-year-old TV personality explained. "It was more, ‘Yup, it’s working. But I’m not getting the same satisfaction.’ These things are cyclical. You have moments of dissatisfaction, and then you come out of it and it’s OK. But the cycles become longer and maybe more entrenched, and that’s when you realize, ‘OK, I’m on the back side of it now.’”
The father of two also mentioned the desire to "be home when my little elves get home from school, occasionally.”
The upcoming 2016 presidential race also spurred him on.
“I’d covered an election four times, and it didn’t appear that there was going to be anything wildly different about this one,” he told Freeman.
On the other hand, Stewart felt that leaving the show with a juicy election-heavy schedule would leave the show and its new host — now revealed as Trevor Noah — with something to chew on.
"I also felt that, for the show, you don’t want to leave when the cupboard’s bare," the Emmy winner noted. So I think it’s a better introduction when you have something providing you with assisted fuel, like a presidential campaign. But really, the value of this show is so much deeper than my contribution."
That may be, but you'll still be missed. #StayJonStay.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT