Jon Stewart is still great on The Daily Show. Is that enough?

Jon Stewart’s as funny as ever. But the world has changed around him. vox.com/culture CULTURE   Jon Stewart is back on The Daily Show. But is that enough? Are we back on the Jon Stewart train? That’s the question my colleague Constance Grady [probes in her piece]( about how political comedy, and the world, has changed since the heyday of Stewart’s Daily Show reign. The host's first episode back on February 12 drew almost 2 million viewers. The man can still be funny. There’s still plenty of politics and world events to amusingly dissect, including the very real possibility of another Trump presidency. But even if he's still got his chops, our political landscape has undergone a seismic shift since he left the desk in 2015, and so the same beloved routine lacks bite. It’s possible that this style of political satire now registers as too earnest to really sizzle. Our comedic sensibilities are the product of a time, and we can’t go back to the way things were. —[Whizy Kim](, senior reporter P.S.: Vox launched a new daily newsletter. [Sign up here]( to get a deep dive into one big story, plus the most compelling news of the day. Jon Stewart is as funny as ever. But the world has changed around him. [a photo of Jon Stewart at his desk in 2015, hosting the Daily Show]( Brad Barket/Getty Images for Comedy Central Jon Stewart’s return to The Daily Show has been, on the metrics, a success. According to Comedy Central, his first episode back on February 12 was watched by 1.85 million total viewers across premiere simulcasts and encores, up 110 percent from Trevor Noah’s final episode in 2022. It’s also a major improvement on Stewart’s last show. The Problem with Jon Stewart, which ran on Apple TV+ from 2021 to 2023, was routinely drawing in audiences as low as 40,000 people. “Jon Stewart” and “The Daily Show” on their own are flawed brands. “Jon Stewart on The Daily Show,” on the other hand? T hat’s a combination of such heady nostalgia that the viewers pour in. Still, Stewart’s first episode proved that his appeal is not just pure nostalgia. There is some kind of alchemy that occurs when Jon Stewart gets behind that old Daily Show desk. He knows the format of the show so well; he plays it like a virtuoso. He eases into his monologue with no rush, breaking out the same Borscht Belt voices and self-deprecating barbs he used to play with in 2015, talking in the same relaxed patter that builds to the same crescendo of righteousness. He is so delighted by the chance to play a gotcha reel (in this case, members of the Trump family repeating “I can’t recall” during depositions after a discussion of Biden’s allegedly failing memory) that he almost manages to make the old trick feel new again. He almost manages to make you think, “Wow, Jon Stewart could have done something with the Trump era.” Almost. Jon Stewart’s great satirical gift is his ability to puncture hypocrisy, which is why he became one of the most trusted sources of news in America during the 2000s. George W. Bush was Stewart’s perfect foil: a president who talked of compassionate conservatism and grand existential battles of good versus evil while lying to the public and embroiling America in dirty, vicious wars that dragged on for decades. No one could puncture Bush’s pieties as well as Jon Stewart. Nothing was more satisfying to watch than Stewart’s mugging face, eyes wide with faux shock, next to a video montage that promised to expose, once and for all, that Bush administration doublespeak. [Read the full story »](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender is everything fans hoped it would be The hugely anticipated remake delivers on the drama, charm, and spectacle of the original. [Read the full story »]( Are Skims campaigns the new Vogue covers? The internet loves Kim Kardashian’s shapewear company. But it loves its ads even more. [Read the full story »](   Support our work We aim to explain what we buy, why we buy it, and why it matters. Support our mission by making a gift today. [Give](   More good stuff to read today - [Romantic norms are in flux. No wonder everyone’s obsessed with polyamory.]( - [How to look at art — and really see it]( - [What’s behind the power of tiny eyeglasses?]( - [This Is Me… Now is the most J. Lo thing J. Lo’s ever done]( - [How to handle the winter blues, no matter where you live]( - [Dakota Johnson’s aloof appeal, explained]( - [An attempt to reckon with True Detective: Night Country’s bonkers season finale](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=culture) . If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Policy]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved.