As the news broke, “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver and NBC News’ Willie Geist discussed Jon Stewart’s upcoming return to hosting “The Daily Show.” In an interview being taped for NBC’s “Today,” Geist asked the former “Daily Show” correspondent about his old boss’s return to once-a-week host duties.
“So we hear. We’re repeating back what was just handed to us on the phone,” Oliver said, clearly coming to the news fresh.
“I think that’s a surprise, yeah. That is a show that needs a host,” Oliver said of the currently hostless Comedy Central show. “He certainly is a very, very good one. So yeah, it will be exciting to see what he does.”
“I do think, after 2025, they should appoint a permanent host,” Oliver stated. “I would have hired Roy Wood, or Amber Ruffin, were very good.”
Wood made news after leaving his position as a correspondent for the show last year, during a protracted run of guest hosts after Trevor Noah chose to exit the show. While Stewart hosts on Mondays, the show’s correspondents will handle hosting Tuesdays through Thursdays.
As another realization dawned on Oliver, he added, “But it’s going to be very exciting to see Jon, and in an election year as well.”
Stewart is set to host Monday nights through the 2024 election season and executive produce through 2025.
Gesturing that he was mulling it over, Oliver noted, “That is watchable” in an understated fashion, broadly smiling and nodding.
He went on to compare Stewart to another star who famously returned from seeming retirement: NBA legend Michael Jordan.
“Jordan’s back,” Oliver said, chuckling.
Watch the clip of Oliver reacting to the “Daily Show” news in the video above.
