I'm not a political person, but Jon Stewart has an incredible ability to educate and entertain Daily Show viewers like myself about politics in a way no one else can. It's going to be hard to say farewell to the comedian, who is taking his final bow on the satirical news show as host. But how long will The Daily Show With Jon Stewart finale be on Thursday night? Stewart needs to cram in a lot of commentary before he leaves us all, and Comedy Central is giving him an extended amount of time — 50 minutes, almost an entire hour! — to say goodbye.
During the past 17 years, Stewart has won acclaim, the hearts of news junkies, and prestigious Peabody awards for The Daily Show's famous Indecision Presidential Election coverage in 2004 and 2008. It's going to be weird going through the 2016 Presidential Election cycle without his sharp wit and intelligent commentary on politics itself, as well as how the media is handling (or mishandling) it all. Actually, Stewart told The Guardian that he wanted to leave the show before the 2016 election picked up steam. "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 said. "I also felt that, for the show, you don’t want to leave when the cupboard’s bare. 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."
His voice will certainly be missed in a political climate that now includes Donald Trump among the Republican candidates and a huge GOP debate occurring on Thursday night as well. In his last 50 minutes with us, I hope he'll comment on that, along with so many other things.
Donald Trump
As a Republican candidate, the businessman is fascinating and entertaining, no matter what your political views are. It's a tragedy that Stewart won't have an official platform to keep commenting on Trump's views and rants.
The Already Crazy 2016 Election & The Media
Not only has Stewart provided humorous analysis on presidential candidates, but he's also a keen media critic as well. It's not going to be the same without him weighing in on all the political antics, as well as the CNN holograms and other cable news shenanigans.
Stephen Colbert
Before The Colbert Report, Colbert was a Daily Show correspondent. I'm really hoping he'll drop by Jon's desk for one last segment — either as his Colbert Report personality, as a correspondent, or just as himself.
Samantha Bee
One of my favorite correspondents has always been this mild-mannered Canadian who gets the funny from her sources when they least expect it. Sure, she'll be back on TV soon with her own TBS show, but how about one last go-around on The Daily Show?
Final Moment Of Zen
And of course, Stewart cannot end his tenure without the final absurd moment, which I hope is the most absurd of them all.
Image: Kevin Fitzsimons/Comedy Central
