It's been almost two years — August 6 marks the official date, but who's counting/crying? — since Jon Stewart said goodbye to The Daily Show to find peace on an animal sanctuary. Though his millions of fans understood that performing nearly every night for 16 years could never truly be sustainable, his retirement from the show that helped get us through the Bush administration, John McCain and Sarah Palin, and Donald Trump's first flirtation with public office.
But now, we finally some news worth celebrating: Stewart will return to HBO to host a stand-up comedy special for the first time in over 20 years, Variety reports. His last HBO special, Jon Stewart: Unleavened, aired in 1996. At this time, the special doesn't have a release date.
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To make things even better, The Hollywood Reporter notes that Stewart has a four-year production deal with HBO, so there's a possibility we'll be seeing a lot more of him. Perhaps he'll bring along some of his pals — Stephen Colbert, Hasan Minhaj, Aasif Mandvi, Samantha Bee, John Oliver, Larry Wilmore, to name a few — for future gigs?
"I'm really thrilled to be able to return to stand-up on HBO," Stewart said in a statement obtained by THR. "They've always set the standard for great stand-up specials. Plus, I can finally use up the last of the Saddam Hussein jokes left over from my first special."
According to the press release, Stewart will also host Night of Too Many Stars for NEXT for AUTISM on Saturday, Nov. 18, which will air live from Madison Square Garden on HBO.
Stewart's return couldn't come at a better time. Right now, millions of Americans are worried about whether they'll lose their healthcare, whether the LGBTQ community will ever be safe after the president called trans military members "burdensome," and whether the federal government will go after the freedom of the press as outlined in the First Amendment. Comedy and political satire at this point aren't just a distraction; they're a way for people to process what's happening on a daily basis in this country.
More updates to come.