The highway's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive
As the audience descend on to the set there’s a hug between Stewart and the E Street Band. He’s on the mic again to just say: “Thank you and goodnight.” Simple but effective. That was pretty much the theme for tonight. A great rapid rundown of all the people who made the show possible with a bare minimal of sentimental moments directed at Stewart.
Here’s a snippet of Raya’s report on the show, which you can read here:
“Welcome to the Daily Show. I am Jon Stewart. Thank you very much for coming.” That understated opening gambit was how Stewart began his final appearance during his run as host of the show.
For 16 and a half years, Jon Stewart has entertained America with his comedic presence, riffing on the absurdities of his country, both cultural and political – and the 6 August finale was no exception.
Stewart bounded on camera, more than ready for his hour-long farewell special brimming with famous guests ranging from Hillary Clinton and Stephen Colbert to Darth Vader.
Thanks for joining me and I hope you guys who wanted to figure out a way around your VPN woes managed it. Good night.
Oh, he’s done it now. Born To Run …
He’s doing Land of Hope and Dreams
This feels fitting, it’s not the chest-pumping finale like Foo Fighters provided on Letterman but it’s pretty huge. By the way - anyone think that goodbye was strangely similar to a certain Sir Alex Ferguson?
“That’s our show” and with that, he’s done. Over to Bruce Springsteen now
Updated
Stewart’s saying his goodbyes now.
People were avoiding eye contact all week he says, and walking around with “salty goggles”. It’s heartfelt but not overly sentimental. He thanks his wife and kids (a la Letterman), he says an artist he admired told him he looks at his career as “one long conversation”, and that - he says - isn’t ending.
Tributes
The whole show has been one big tribute, so why stop there, eh? Plenty of people have weighed in on Twitter …
"You've been a great gift to the country." —President Obama to Jon Stewart on @TheDailyShow #JonVoyage pic.twitter.com/ku6QZx2nE1
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 6, 2015
Congratulations to Jon Stewart on an incredible achievement in comedy. Sadly, now it's back to getting all my news from Geraldo #DailyShow
— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) August 6, 2015
Wish you all best, dude. Keep taking those fantastic pauses, inhales, slow squint then drop funny line... Love you, man. #jonvoyage
— Jerry Seinfeld (@JerrySeinfeld) August 7, 2015
“I would love to download Drizzy’s latest Meek Mill’s diss” He’s going out there on this last big push.
“Banks shouldn’t be able to bet your mortgage on red,” he says, before saying in bullshit world that’s all explained away.
This is essentially a last jab at Wall Street, the GOP and right wingers who oppose gay marriage. It wasn’t his best if I’m being honest. Felt as if he didn’t really grasp everything he was trying to say (see Drake’s head for evidence).
We’re back and Stewart tells us: “Bullshit, is everywhere”.
I feel a final monologue coming on about the nonsense of modern life …
Another break.
If Springsteen is appearing (HE CLEARLY IS), he’s got to be on soon. Dancing in the Dark, Thunder Road, Born to Run? I’m going with Born to Run. BTW - here’s a clip of Hot Chip playing Dancing in the Dark earlier in the summer.
Nice gag there … after a huge one-shot (Gus Van Sant-style) tour of the backstage we get to the executive suite where we see the guys who are running the show: dogs playing cards.
Martin Scorsese makes a jibe about the show ripping him off …
The whole thing concludes as Stewart gets to the studio and … we’re back
Imagine this but with nerdy looking guys doing research and looking downtrodden
Stewart is back talking about how “beautiful” the atmosphere is at the show, and now we segue into a Goodfellas-style tour of the backstage area of the Daily Show.
Lizz Winstead, the co-creator of the show has been tweeting:
And knowing what I do about Jon Stewart, I am beside myself with excitement about what he does next, for him and for us. #JonVoyage 3/3
— Lizz Winstead (@lizzwinstead) August 6, 2015
Knowing the brilliant minds that remain, I eagerly await what will be built upon the Stewart foundation. #JonVoyage 2/3
— Lizz Winstead (@lizzwinstead) August 6, 2015
We all know what happens to a strong foundation when a genius like Jon Stewart builds upon it. It becomes a classic 1/3 #JonVoyage
— Lizz Winstead (@lizzwinstead) August 6, 2015
One we made earlier
Raya Jalabi was down at the Nightly Show studio where they piped in the live filming to journalists who couldn’t fit in the main studio. Here’s how it went down:
The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, who got his Comedy Central debut as Senior Black Correspondent for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, is filmed a few blocks away from the Daily Show studios in New York.
A packed studio audience for the taping of the show, meant that the press and “special guests” were relegated to the Nightly Show Studios, to watch a live stream of the show being taped.
Wilmore’s studio was split in half, with one side decked out with screens showing the Daily Show – dust-proof sheets covered Wilmore’s set furniture, lending it a funereal atmosphere.
The Nightly show debuted on 19 January, 2015 – almost 16 years to the day that Jon Stewart took the reigns of the Comedy Central show on 11 January 1999. So it felt somewhat surreal to watch the end of Stewart’s era unfold in this dark studio, somewhat, out with the old and in with the new.
Amid a wall of clocks – including one indicating Obama’s Birthplace and Pompeii – silence swept over the gathered crowd once the lights dimmed and the final Daily Show began. But as soon as Stewart came on screen, there were cheers and loud guffaws as everyone settled into their seats.
Ok, we’re on a break. I’m going to down a can of lager and try to calm down.
Stephen Colbert is now giving an ad-libbed thank you which is touching. “We owe you, not just for what you did for our careers.” But, he adds, because he told them how to work with clarity.
“We’re better at our jobs because we got watch you do yours.”
Stewart is almost cracking, but Colbert’s poo miner quips are cutting through any hint of schmaltz.
“When you look at the talent that has walked through this door, it would have been hard to screw it up,” says Stewart after Ed Helms, Wyatt Cenac, Gitmo puppet, John Oliver and a very animated Stephen Colbert bid him farewell.
Updated
Now there’s a tribute video made up of politicians who, for the most part, look slightly terrified.
CEO of Arbys
Chuck Schumer
Hillary Clinton
Wolf Blitzer
Lindsey Graham
John Kerry
John McCain (and a puppet)
Here’s a list of all the people who’ve showed up so far:
Jessica Williams
Hassan Minhaj
Jordan Klepper
Asif Mandvi
Al Madrigal
John Hodgman
Louis Black
Kristen Schaal
Samantha Bee
Steve Carell
Nancy Carell
Vance DeGeneres
Mo Rocca
Dave Atell
Matt Walsh
Dan Bakkedal
Larry Wilmore
Jason Jones
Josh Gad
Rob Corddry
Nate Corddry
Darth Vader
Bassem Youssef
Michael Che
Trevor Noah
Craig Kilborn
Olivia Munn
Rob Riggle
Now Bassem Youssef and Michael Che show up. I’m aware this is little more than me listing people who show up on screen but they are cramming them in. Trevor Noah just showed up with a measuring tape and a look on his face which says “get out of my chair old man!”
Oh yeah, of course. Darth Vader makes an appearance. He’s annoyed Jon compared him to Dick Cheney. Sounds like legitimate beef to me …
Now Josh Gad is here singing a song from Frozen - he played the snowman. Rob Corddry appears and his brother Nate, who Rob can’t remember.
This is far more rapid fire than Letterman’s pedestrian send off. Now Larry Wilmore is here lamenting the fact his show - which usually follows Stewart - “got bumped”, finishing off with the quip “black shows matter”.
Updated
Dave Atell shows up to drop a joke bomb: “You did it. 16 years, man. Next move: podcasts”
This could go on for some time. Kristen Schaal has shown up and now … Samantha Bee and Steve Carell.
First good gag: Kelber says he can’t believe Trump got his penis out.
Oh, and now Asif Mandvi is here and Al Madrigal and John Hodgman and Louis Black. Did someone say: “Reunion?”
HEY, GUESS WHAT?
I GOT BIG NEWS.
THIS IS IT.
THIS IS THE FINAL EPISODE!
Is how things start, before he quickly moves on to set up the premise of tonight’s show … a lampooning of the Republican debates in the show’s tradition post-debate style.
He introduces Jessica Williams, Hassan Minhaj and Jordan Klepper who are each covering a candidate (Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and Donald Trump).
And … we’re off. He’s started by scribbling on a piece of paper. If it aint broke don’t fix it, eh?
Here we go
We’re one ad break away from the start of the final ever Daily Show hosted by Jon Stewart. Prepare thyself
What happens after he has gone?
Immediately after the news of Jon Stewart’s departure we put together a list of possible replacements: Amy Schumer, John Oliver, Amy Poehler, Ricky Gervais (ha!), Trevor Noah, Conan O’Brien, and, er, Nobody. At the time people wrote off Noah as an outsider, as did we:
The South African comedian is an outsider for the Comedy Central show. He only recently joined Stewart’s staff, on which he serves as one of the many contributors offering insightful, knowingly ham-fisted takes on the news. Stewart is known for his brazen desire to push diverse comics to the forefront of US television, but with Larry Wilmore in the slot after the Daily Show, and Noah a new recruit, it may be too early – just not the right time for him to step up. Having said that, there is a school of thought which predicts Comedy Central should and will go for a relative unknown.
He did get the nod though and will take over from Stewart on 28 September.
In the aftermath of his appointment some of his old tweets were dug up which contained offensive jokes about women and Jews. People called for him to be fired. Others argued those people were overreacting. But he is still in line to take over and he’s been keeping a fairly low profile since, popping up on shows such as Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee to tell the world about his upbringing in South Africa and generally come across as a pretty nice bloke.
The big question a lot of people have is how can a South African comic replace Stewart’s astute view of US politics, especially during an election year. The best comeback for that might be a name: John Oliver. He’s managed from a co-host of the Bugle podcast to one of the biggest and most influential comedic political commentators operating on US television.
How did we get here?
Back in February fans of the Daily Show were carrying on with their lives oblivious to the fact Stewart was about to announce his departure from the show. Well, oblivious might be overdoing it. There were a few warning signs.
He had a sabbatical during the summer of 2013 – when now HBO host John Oliver stood in – so he could film his directorial debut, Rosewater.
Here’s a video of his announcement:
Speaking to Hadley Freeman, Stewart revealed his reasons for leaving: he’d developed election fatigue, and wanted to spend more time with his family. Doing the show four times a week, had simply become too much of strain.
He describes his decision to quit The Daily Show, the American satirical news programme he has hosted for 16 years, as something closer to the end of a long-term relationship. “It’s not like I thought the show wasn’t working any more, or that I didn’t know how to do it. It was more, ‘Yup, it’s working. But I’m not getting the same satisfaction.’” He slaps his hands on his desk, conclusively.
“These things are cyclical. You have moments of dissatisfaction, and then you come out of it and it’s OK. But the cycles become longer and maybe more entrenched, and that’s when you realise, ‘OK, I’m on the back side of it now.’”
By the end of April we had a date for his final episode and since then it’s been a swift run-in to tonight.
I have missed out one part of the story, the race to see who would replace him …
“The Daily Show wasn’t part of the news; it was the news,” what the papers said
The final week of Jon Stewart’s tenure at the Daily Show has triggered an almost unadulterated wave of praise from media outlets. Most have dedicated op-eds to Stewart – including the Guardian – as they tried to sum up just what made his show so vital.
Here’s a run down:
The Guardian’s Brian Moylan pointed out how he’s been there through so many world-changing events:
It’s Stewart’s soul that has since infused the show, which has been skewering both the right and the left of the political spectrum (but, let’s be honest, mostly the right) since 1999. Wow, 1999. Think about everything’s that’s happened since then. The end of the Clinton presidency, Y2K, 9/11, two Bush presidential terms, two Obama terms, the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, the Arab spring, theFerguson unrest, gay marriage becoming legal in all 50 states, cannabis usebecoming legal in a handful, Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and the internet in general changing everything. All the while we’ve had one constant: Jon Stewart.
The New Yorker’s David Remnick called him “heroic and persistent” in his Exit Stage Left column:
Four nights a week for sixteen years, Jon Stewart, the host and impresario of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” has taken to the air to expose our civic bizarreries. He has been heroic and persistent. Blasted into orbit by a trumped-up (if you will) impeachment and a stolen Presidential election, and then rocketing through the war in Iraq and right up to the current electoral circus, with its commodious clown car teeming with would-be Commanders-in-Chief, Stewart has lasered away the layers of hypocrisy in politics and in the media. On any given night, a quick montage of absurdist video clips culled from cable or network news followed by Stewart’s vaudeville reactions can be ten times as deflating to the self-regard of the powerful as any solemn editorial—and twice as illuminating as the purportedly non-fake news that provides his fuel.
In the Washington Post, Paul Waldman focused on Stewart’s ability to ‘find the funny’ in a way most liberals and conservatives couldn’t:
Periodically, conservatives tried to emulate “The Daily Show,” and they usually failed. Part of the reason is that they looked at Stewart and saw a liberal who happened to be a comedian, using comedy for liberal ends. In truth, he was a comedian who happened to be a liberal, using politics for comedy. When conservatives set out to create comedy that would advance conservatism, the results just weren’t all that funny.
Away from the columns Fox News boss Roger Ailes told the Hollywood Reporter that he thinks Stewart is annoyed because “Fox News beats him” in terms of the money he makes:
The Fox News chief added: “As he faces the end of his career, he’s beginning to wonder: ‘Is this as popular as I’m ever going to get? Is this as much power as I’ll ever have? The one person I could never get rid of was Roger Ailes. I tried. I did everything I could.’ This was all a plea to his lefty friends. I think he’s disappointed that he didn’t accomplish that goal, and we, of course, supplied him with half of his comedy. It’s just a matter of disappointment.”
Vulture’s Chris Smith was simply amazed Stewart’s managed to maintain his sanity during 16 years at the helm:
No matter what wackiness may occur during tonight’s special hour-long finale, one of the most remarkable things is that Stewart seems to be ending his 16-and-a-half-year run with his feet still firmly on the ground.
Then again, comedy and sanity have been on his mind for a long time. Back in 1993, Stewart was the host of a struggling talk show on MTV, and I was writing about him, and as we walked past West Fourth Street the conversation somehow turned to whether it was possible to be seriously funny and mentally well-balanced.
The great comics I’d met to that point were pretty twisted. Stewart, though, was strangely optimistic that laughs and levelheadedness could go together, even after the years he’d spent doing stand-up in clubs where he was paid partly in hummus.
What can we expect?
Rumours about who will appear on the show have been swirling, well, more slowly circulating like hot air being push out of a hand dryer, but still. Billboard believes the Boss himself will turn up with a Springsteen expert giving them the low down:
Stan Goldstein, a Springsteen expert who guides fans through the singer’s old and new haunts on the Rock and Roll Tour of the Jersey Shore, tweeted that it won’t be just The Boss in the house, but the entire E Street Band.
“Look for Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band to be on Jon Stewart’s final show on Thursday,” he shared.
Our reporter Raya Jalabi was on the ground and knows who exactly showed up but … it’d be poor form to spoil the show so we’ll leave things nice and ambiguous for now. But knowing Stewart said: “I do what I do because of Bruce Springsteen,” when the boss was on his show in 2009 it’s a pretty safe bet, oh and he was snapped coming out of the final recording …
The show is going to run for 50 minutes (20 minutes longer than usual), and it’s likely that a long line of former contributors (people such as Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, John Oliver) will pop up, as well as some big name fans of the show.
If Letterman’s departure was anything to go by fans can expect Stewart to let clips and guests do most of the talking, although it would be odd if he didn’t have one last dig at the Republicans (the first debate is taking place tonight, after all) and, it’d be equally surprising if he didn’t give fans a heartfelt – and tearful – goodbye.
There again, he might just pull a Seinfeld on everybody, or better yet a Grateful Dead and just continue the show with a slightly different name …
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the live blog for Jon Stewart’s final episode as host of the Daily Show. Since his announcement in February this date has been looming large, and one of the biggest questions now is who is going to appear. Leave your guesses in the comments and we’ll try and construct some sort of ad hoc drinking game. For now, here’s reminder of what Stewart looking like when it all began, 16 years ago.
and when he waged war on Christmas
We asked readers for their favourite moments as well. Have a look, there’s still plenty of time before things kick off or you could watch a different kind of entertainment: the Republican debates.
PS – here’s a tearjerker from Blackstreet to get you in the mood.
