In September 2021, six years after he left The Daily Show, Jon Stewart made his grand return to the TV realm with The Problem with Jon Stewart, a current affairs series available to Apple TV+ subscribers. Stewart and his team produced 20 episodes across two seasons, and a third season was supposed to begin shooting in the coming weeks. However, it’s been revealed that The Problem with Jon Stewart has come to an abrupt end, and this reportedly is due to major creative differences between the host and Apple.
Per sources who spoke with The New York Times, the two sides cut ties just days ago, and members of the show’s staff were informed about this just today. This unexpected move apparently stems from Stewart and Apple executives getting into “disagreements over some of the topics and guests” on the show. Stewart reportedly told the staff that “potential show topics related to China and artificial intelligence” prompted concern from these executives, and there was also “potential for further creative disagreements” concerning the 2024 presidential election.
So with that, Jon Stewart’s latest hosting gig has wrapped up after just two years, a far cry from the 16 years he was on The Daily Show. Although The Problem with Jon Stewart initially had trouble grabbing viewers, it started to pick up steam in Season 2 thanks to various viral clips. This second batch of episodes also led to the show being being nominated for Outstanding Talk Series at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, which will air on January 15, 2024.
In the end, though, apparently Apple wasn’t keen on some of the topics The Problem with Jon Stewart planned to explore in Season 3, so the company decided to part ways with Jon Stewart rather than risk potential controversies. It’s certainly not the only talk show to not stick around long, with some of the more recent cancellation examples being Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj and The Break with Michelle Wolf and (both of which were viewable with a Netflix subscription), and A Little Late Night with Lilly Singh, which aired on NBC.
Judging by this report, it doesn’t sound like The Problem with Jon Stewart will be shopped around to other streaming services. As such, it’s unclear if Stewart will start looking for another hosting opportunity, or if he’s content with no longer continuing with this kind of professional endeavor. Shortly after he exited The Daily Show, Stewart signed a four-year deal with HBO to host a show and produce exclusive digital content, but by May 2017, those plans were scrapped.
Rest assured though, if/when it’s announced that Jon Stewart will host another TV show, or if he has some other kind of major project lined up, we’ll let you know. But for now, use our 2023 TV schedule to keep track of what programming is left to debut this year.
