When Jon Stewart decided to hang it up and turn the keys to “The Daily Show” over to Trevor Noah, we can only assume that he did so at least in part because he had bigger and better plans for himself, and “The Daily Show” just wouldn’t give him the room he needed to flex his intellectual muscles.
Well, it took him a while, but Stewart ultimately landed on his feet at Apple. Or maybe “landed on his head” would be a better way to say that.
“The Bush years seem almost quaint now, as does the kind of president who would affectionately nickname his top adviser ‘Turd Blossom.’” https://t.co/YFO41HlrT2
— Adrienne LaFrance (@AdrienneLaF) April 22, 2022
This piece about Jon Stewart by @DevinGordonX is really good https://t.co/gmUWl8uuKU
— Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) April 22, 2022
The grand return that Stewart finally launched last fall, The Problem With Jon Stewart, streaming on Apple TV+, is hosted by a guy who took a six-year break from television, and boy, does it show. According to the industry-measurement firm Samba TV, the fifth episode of The Problem With Jon Stewart has been streamed just 40,000 times, which is down 78 percent from the pilot, which aired on September 30, 2021. By comparison, HBO’s episode of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver that same week drew more than 800,000 viewers.
Stewart’s specific genius on The Daily Show was layering facts and complexity into jokes, and stitching punch lines together into George Carlin–esque political riffs. When Stewart was at the peak of his powers, no one could pack more ideas into 22 minutes of comedy. But something has turned. Now he’s the one who seems overwhelmed by complexity and prone to oversimplification. He’s the one who gets called out for fumbling facts, for missing the point, for being out of touch. It’s not just that Tucker Carlson has struck back with a Stewart-proof breed of sophistry. It’s not just that topical comedy doesn’t work as well as it used to. The problem with The Problem With Jon Stewart is Jon Stewart himself.
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Womp-womp.
Is it possible that Jon Stewart isn’t as sharp and brilliant and talented as he thinks he is? Perhaps he should consider considering that possibility.
This thread from actor and Mother Jones journalist Ben Dreyfuss is pretty persuasive:
Why are the production values on Jon Stewart’s new Apple show so terrible? It has a real “I’m Wayne, this is Garth” vibe
— Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) April 22, 2022
It’s super hard to watch because the audience doesn’t even seem very into it? Can’t they find some people to be in the audience who will laugh at anything? Like drunks? Or Saturday night live audience members?
— Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) April 22, 2022
This segment is genuinely difficult to watch. Aside from the fact that he doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about, the audience only lightly giggles at like 1/8th of his jokes https://t.co/YSzdw4eKIC
— Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) April 22, 2022
A WSJ reporter who wrote a book about GameStop criticized the segment and Jon Stewart had him on his podcast and it is fucking surreal, man. It is just this very nice expert trying to politely explain to a lunatic how the stock market works https://t.co/WO49DTJjq5
— Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) April 22, 2022
Because the WSJ reporter is a nice dude who is a guest on this famous comedian’s show he is way too nice. He should have treated him with the same contempt that Stewart showed to Crossfire in 2004.
— Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) April 22, 2022
Jon Stewart looks like a man who is willing to buy a 13 year old beer as long as they listen to his homoerotic interpretations of the New Testament. pic.twitter.com/5gWrE9PJh2
— Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) April 22, 2022
Does Jon Stewart know that Russia was part of the Allies? pic.twitter.com/1dWntgfosl
— Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) April 22, 2022
I’m increasingly of the opinion that the writers of this show might be? pic.twitter.com/NieN6syuJ3
— Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) April 22, 2022
Oooooooof.
I can’t stop watching this train wreck of a show. It’s fascinating how the guests interact with him. They are all trying to be so polite and nice about the fact that he has no idea what he’s talking about pic.twitter.com/jOdATegJa6
— Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) April 22, 2022
It’s amazing. If he wasn’t Jon Stewart, famous comedian, they would be like “are you a freshman in college?” They still try to explain how stupid he is but they start it with things like this and then say “but actually hats are worn on your head and shoes are on your feet” pic.twitter.com/JEaP8JbhIT
— Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) April 22, 2022
In this segment Jon Stewart is addressing the department of defense and says that they work in the same building as the EPA. The department of defense actually has their own building. It’s called the pentagon. pic.twitter.com/I64SJBrVsw
— Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) April 22, 2022
Stop! Stop! He’s already dead!
Truly a sight to behold. Both the thread and Jon Stewart’s career trajectory.
Jon Stewart's comeback is like watching an arsonist trying to set fire to a pile of ash. https://t.co/Pdr2ejgCH0
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) April 22, 2022
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Jon Stewart explains the problem with white people, seems to suggest reparations are in order
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