Source : @Variety
NEW YORK – Jon Stewart returned to the desk of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” on Monday night (19 October) and opened with a joke at the expense of his own employer, quipping that Skydance had “pulled our renewal” hours after the company announced he would stay on as host through 2028, before turning his fire on US Vice President JD Vance, President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, according to Variety.
Introducing his guest, the journalist David Corn, Stewart deadpanned that the network had “just pulled our renewal” before apologising to the audience. The gag landed on the same day Skydance Television confirmed that the comedian had extended his contract by two years, a deal that keeps him in the Monday-night chair through the next US presidential election.
Vance and the riots in France
Vance was the first target of the monologue. Stewart played a recent clip of the vice-president apologising to a woman for using “imperfect” rhetoric, and responded: “Sometimes you incite violence against vulnerable communities, and then later on you apologise.” He went on to mock the idea that the administration’s language about immigrants had been anything other than deliberate, calling it, sarcastically, “all just sloppy word choice”.
The host then moved on to France, where riots broke out over the past weekend. Variety reported that French officials have said the unrest had nothing to do with immigration, Islam or Muslim communities, but that Vance nonetheless posted on X that “western liberals imported the third world into France”. Stewart was unimpressed. “Are you seriously suggesting that immigrants have brought a culture of revolution and protest to France? What are you talking about? Have you ever been to the theatre? Can you not hear the people sing?” he said, in a nod to “Les Misérables”.
Macron was next. Stewart took aim at the French president for attending a Celine Dion concert with his wife while the unrest continued. “Celine Dion concert – a little on the metaphorical nose, yeah, Mr President? As your country falls apart, you stand on the deck, enjoying the dulcet tones of the theme song from ‘Titanic’,” he said.
Fuel prices and the Gulf conflict
Stewart explained that the protests in France were being driven by the rising cost of living and fuel prices, which Variety linked to the conflict in the Persian Gulf. He contrasted the scale of the French reaction with the mood in the United States, joking: “We’re so mad about this war, we might vote.”
He then turned to Trump, criticising the president for blaming high petrol prices on the war in “Ukraine that Russia started”, and ribbing him over sanctions on Russian fuel sales that were imposed and then promptly waived. “We will not waver, but we will waive,” Stewart said. The segment also featured a mock phone call with the president about who had cut off Ukraine’s access to Starlink.
A new deal through 2028
Earlier on Monday, Skydance Television announced that Stewart will continue to host “The Daily Show” every Monday and serve as executive producer through December 2028. His previous deal, a one-year renewal signed in November 2025, had been due to expire at the end of 2026. The show’s news team – Ronny Chieng, Josh Johnson, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta and Desi Lydic, with correspondents Troy Iwata and Grace Kuhlenschmidt – will continue to share hosting duties from Tuesday to Thursday.
“Jon Stewart is a generational talent and ‘The Daily Show’ continues to be one of the most influential franchises on television and a cornerstone of Comedy Central,” said George Cheeks, co-chair and chief content officer of Skydance TV. “We are excited to continue our partnership with Jon and his award-winning news team.”
Stewart’s future had been the subject of speculation since Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount, Comedy Central’s parent, in 2025, amid questions over how the new owners would treat programming critical of the Trump administration. Variety noted that the latest extension comes weeks after the David Ellison-led company closed a merger between Paramount and Warner Bros.
Stewart first became host of “The Daily Show” in 1999 and stepped down in 2015, with Trevor Noah taking over until 2022. He returned in February 2024, after which ratings rose. According to Paramount, the programme recently recorded its highest third-quarter viewership since 2018, picked up two Emmy wins this year and ranks as the most-viewed cable programme across social media in 2026.
This story is based on a report by Variety, shared on X. Read the original Variety article.
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