Entertainment

Jon Stewart Is Back at The Daily Show Desk, and Here Is How a Day Gets Built

Putri ArdhanaPublished 8m ago2 min readBased on 6 sources
Jon Stewart Is Back at The Daily Show Desk, and Here Is How a Day Gets Built
Photo by Peabody Awards / CC BY 2.0

Jon Stewart returns to host The Daily Show on Monday, Nov. 2, with writer Michael Lewis as his guest. A new behind-the-scenes video from Variety shows how the program is put together, from the first meeting of the morning to the moment the hosts walk on.

The production day starts at 9:30 a.m. with a morning meeting. About two hours later, the team gathers in what the show calls the "fishbowl" for script assembly, the stage where segments are put into running order and the jokes are tested against the news of the day.

The hosts rehearse at the desk at 2:30 p.m., with an empty studio audience in the seats. Later in the afternoon, at 5:15 p.m., there is a wardrobe fitting for the show's field correspondents, Troy Iwata and Grace Kuhlenschmidt. Each step is a small one on its own. Together they make up the schedule that the broadcast depends on.

The show rotates its anchors through the week. Ronny Chieng, Josh Johnson, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta and Desi Lydic all take turns at the desk, alongside Stewart. The video follows that rotation into the week ahead:

  • Monday: Jon Stewart, with guest Michael Lewis.
  • Tuesday: Ronny Chieng, with guest Min Jin Lee.
  • Wednesday: Michael Kosta, with guest Erica Chenoweth.
  • Thursday: Jordan Klepper, with guest Grandmaster Flash.

Guest prep is part of the day too. The video shows Chieng brainstorming questions for the director, writer and producer Taika Waititi, who he interviews on the programme.

Stewart's place at the show is also settled for a while longer. In October, Variety reported that he had extended his contract with Comedy Central to keep hosting through 2028.

The show's history is also on display. In July, it released a 17-minute video of clips from across its run, including the early years when Craig Kilborn hosted. The same month, the news team launched a new podcast of its own, a separate way for the team's reporting and commentary to reach listeners who do not watch the broadcast.

The Daily Show has won Emmy and Peabody awards over its run. For viewers, the practical point is simple: the desk, the guests and the rotation of hosts are set for the coming week, and the behind-the-scenes video lays out the working day that gets them to air.

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