Several members of The Daily Show – Jon Stewart, Ronny Chieng, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta and Desi Lydic – gathered at The Paramount Theater for the Comedy Central show’s Emmy FYC event Friday night.
Throughout a nearly hour-long conversation, Stewart spent time poking fun at Donald Trump and explaining his decision to return to the show. Most notably, when asked if he’d consider staying past his expected November departure, the late night host didn’t seem to rule the idea out.
Much of the night’s conversation centered around Stewart’s surprising once-a-week to return to the show after exiting as host in 2015. Stewart began the conversation by joking that he was “arrested for 32… 34” felonies and that his return to the show was “part of the community service to avoid jail time.”
Stewart spoke briefly about him prematurely exiting his Apple TV+ show, The Problem, following creative differences between the iPhone maker and Stewart over potential topics and guests. “They felt that it would be better if I didn’t say the things that I enjoy saying for them,” the host said.
Stewart explained that Comedy Central, who was searching for a new host following Trevor Noah’s departure in 2022, asked him return. “And I said, ‘No,’” the host recalled to laughter from the audience.
The comedian then suggested that the cable network’s ask to only return one night a week enticed him. Stewart went on to say his return has been “phenomenal,” praising the correspondents on the panel who are among those that rotate hosting duties Tuesday through Thursday.
When asked what the how the rest of the hosts felt about Stewart’s return, Klepper jokingly answered: “I was like, he’s still alive? What a relief.”
“They say never meet your heroes,” Lydic added. “I say meet your hero and immediately get on his payroll.”
Klepper, who was hired by Stewart during this initial run on the show, spoke about a Zoom call between all of the hosts shortly after Stewart’s return in which they were able to discuss “difficulties of hosting The Daily Show.” Klepper added: “I will say, hosting a late night show is a weird, lonely, strange job.”
Chieng told the crowd he took a very research centric approach when he first joined the show as a correspondent, but seeing Stewart return was different than knowing his hosting abilities in an academic sense.
“When you see that first episode… It’s like watching [Michael] Jordan in ’96 direct the offense again,” he said. Chieng also credited Stewart as the person who “invented modern American satire.”
The hosts also briefly discussed the show’s plan to hit the road for the Democratic and Republican national conventions. “I have never done a convention… Do you want me to leave the stage for this part of the question?” Kosta joked.
Finishing off the night, Stewart tackled the topic of him possibly staying on the show after his expected departure following the presidential election. “The one thing I will say is I walked away nine years ago because I was burnt[out],” Stewart said. “And I don’t feel that right now. I feel reinvigorated.”
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