Jon Stewart Renews Daily Show Through 2026 Despite New Trump-Friendly Corporate Owner
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Jon Stewart will be sticking around The Daily Show on Comedy Central through 2026, despite speculation his time might be limited after a Trump-friendly corporate owner merged with the network’s parent company.
In a statement, Comedy Central’s head Ari Pearce said Stewart’s “return is an ongoing commitment to the incisive comedy and sharp commentary that define ‘The Daily Show.’ The renewal is a win for audiences, for Comedy Central and for all our programming partners. We’re proud to support Jon and the extraordinary news team.”
Comedy Central’s parent company, Paramount, completed an $8 billion merger with Skydance over the summer after settling President Donald Trump’s suit against CBS News’s 60 Minutes for $16 million. Critics panned the deal as a capitulation to the Trump administration to secure approval from the Federal Communications Commission’s Brendan Carr.
CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert just days after the host joked about the legal settlement as a “big, fat bribe.”
Stewart and Comedy Central’s South Park have been highly critical of the Colbert situation.
“The fact that CBS didn’t try to save their number-one rated network late-night franchise that’s been on the air for over three decades is part of what’s making everybody wonder, was this purely financial?” Stewart said on his show. “Or maybe the path of least resistance for your $8 billion merger with killing a show that you know rankled a fragile and vengeful president, so insecure, suffering terribly from a case of chronic penis insufficiency.”
The merged company, called “New Paramount,” is headed up by David Ellison, the son of billionaire tech tycoon and Trump ally Larry Ellison.
The merger has brought about a sea change at CBS with the appointment of The Free Press’s Bari Weiss to editor-in-chief of its news division. Weiss has vowed to do away with “liberal bias” in the newsroom. Trump praised Weiss as a “great, new leader” when interviewed by 60 Minutes’ Norah O’Donnell for Sunday’s broadcast.
Stewart hasn’t commented on his new contract or whether any subject will be off the table for Stewart to discuss.
