Jon Stewart Is Leaving THE DAILY SHOW

Cue the "they should swap jobs jokes." Just moments before NBC announced that it was suspending Brian Williams for lying about his experiences, Comedy Central announced that Jon Stewart, who has hosted The Daily Show for 17 years, will retire from his job at some point during 2015.

Thank you Jon. pic.twitter.com/yPdxjnkuLw
— Comedy Central (@ComedyCentral) February 10, 2015

Stewart addressed his departure during the closing minutes of Tuesday's Daily Show taping, breaking the news to an audience that was unaware of the news.



The exact details of Stewart's retirement have yet to be settled. Variety reported that his contract with Comedy Central is "believed to end around the fall of 2015." During the above clip, Stewart mentions that he could stick around until December or January or even leave as early as July.

For Comedy Central, the big question is now who will replace Stewart. If Stewart had left The Daily Show a year or two ago, Comedy Central would have had several options. The Colbert Report could have been moved up half an hour to take The Daily Show's place. John Oliver, who had subbed to stellar reviews while Stewart was off directing Rosewater, could have easily stepped into the anchor chair. Unfortunately for Comedy Central, neither Stephen Colbert or Oliver work for them any more. Colbert was hired by CBS to replace David Letterman as host of Late Show and Oliver was plucked up by HBO to host the weekly Last Week Tonight. Colbert's replacement, Larry Wilmore and The Nightly Show, are still very fresh.

In the tweet announcing Stewart's departure, Comedy Central said that The Daily Show is "an unparalleled platform for political comedy that will endure for years to come," so don't expect the network to just call it a day on the show. The Daily Show existed before Stewart and it will continue to exist after him.