‘The Daily Show’ Cancelled? Jon Stewart And Comedy Central Provide Scanty Details On Plans

Is The Daily Show cancelled? The surprise announcement of Jon Stewart’s departure caught practically everyone off guard, since it was so unexpected. So what do we know for certain about the future plans for the famous funny man?

In a related report by the Inquisitr, Comedy Central sent out an official statement on the company’s Twitter account, which explained that they will not have The Daily Show cancelled based upon Stewart’s retirement plans.

“For the better part of the last two decades, we have had the incredible honor and privilege of working with Jon Stewart. His comedic brilliance is second to none. Jon has been at the heart of Comedy Central, championing and nurturing the best talent in the industry, in front of and behind the camera. Through his unique voice and vision, The Daily Show has become a cultural touchstone for millions of fans and an unparalleled platform for political comedy that will endure for years to come,” Comedy Central said.

“Jon will remain at the helm of The Daily Show until later this year. He is a comic genius, generous with his time and talent, and will always be a part of the Comedy Central family. “

The eventual replacement has not been announced, although Viacom is certain to want to prevent The Daily Show ratings from hitting a slump when Stewart takes his leave. According to Bloomberg, “Comedy Central’s prime-time audience has shrunk 17 percent in the current TV season that started in September, to an average of 693,000 viewers a night from 831,000 a year earlier.” It’s also noted that a potential Stewart replacement named John Oliver departed for HBO last year.

Although the network didn’t address the 52-year-old comedian’s future plans, Jon Stewart did express his issue with “boredom” in an interview with New York magazine late last year when he was asked about his directorial debut with Rosewater, a political drama about Maziar Bahari.

“I think it’s more bumping up against the limits of boredom. Doing anything for 16 years, there is going to be a level of sameness to it that is difficult, I’m sure, for an audience, but also difficult for a performer. That’s why nobody does the whole run of Cats. At a certain point, you’re like, ‘Really, I’m going to go out there in f***ing tights again?'”

Jon Stewart also shot down rumors he had been offered to become the host at NBC’s Meet The Press, claiming instead that NBC had merely been exploring the idea. Stewart also seemed to believe he wasn’t the right person for the job.

“I think I would be too reactionary to execute something like Meet the Press properly. I mean reactionary in the sense of, ‘What’s wrong with you!’ Nobody wants to be yelled at.”

The good news is that the network is not having The Daily Show cancelled, but so far no one, not even Jon Stewart, seems to know what is coming next. We just know we’ll miss seeing him every day.