After all the votes are counted, and a winner is clearly determined, one other burning question will loom over Election Day in America:
What’s going to happen with Jon Stewart?
Maybe there is slightly less anxiety about this question than who will be President for four years (and whether there will even be any more elections), but in terms of late-night entertainment, it’s a close call.
Stewart’s part-time and temporary return to The Daily Show this past February has unquestionably elevated that long-time and vital late-night franchise, lifting the show in both ratings and national attention. That is what happens when an iconic performer returns to the stage.
But of course, when the announcement of Stewart’s return was being celebrated by the millions of fans who felt his departure from the late-night world was premature, it was accompanied by the recognition that he and Comedy Central had described it as a retirement-suspension election special only. Translation: have fun while it lasts.
And fun it has been. Even for Stewart, apparently. He did not seem to be faking the thrill of collecting his 23d Emmy Award for The Daily Show at The Emmy Awards in September.
In case you missed it or don’t recall, he said: “You’ve made an old man very happy.” (For the record Stewart, at 61, is still well underage to receive his full Social Security benefit.)
More tellingly, Stewart has looked happy back behind the Daily Show desk, and totally in command, much as he was a couple of decades ago.
Comedy Central has obviously been happy to have him. On Mondays, the cable channel never fails to alert viewers it’s a Jon Stewart night.
The whole once-a-week thing seems to have been an ideal arrangement for all concerned. So much so that it felt both disappointing and a little startling that Monday of this week did not bring a Stewart-led Daily Show , apparently because of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Not exactly up there with Memorial Day and MLK’s Birthday in the list of most-observed holidays, but in New York the holiday formerly known as Columbus Day has always drawn some extra attention.
Still, with three weeks left before the big decision day, it was a smidge surprising that Host-Emeritus Day was not observed on some other day this week. Perhaps not disrupting Desi Lydic’s turn in the host chair was a priority.
And you can’t blame The Daily Show for that. Part of the strategy behind the Jon et al weekly wheel at the show was to give the rest of the cast a full and fair shot at breaking out as a possible full-time host after Jon returned to his post-host career.
Whether that’s still a consideration is unclear, because Stewart’s plans are unclear—or at least unannounced.
In some recent comments he has been living out that old joke: when is a door not a door? When it’s ajar. (Rim shot optional.)
When the possibility of his continuing past the election has come up, Stewart has first, appropriately, turned to a joke. Asked on Emmy night whether he would wrap it up after the election was decided, Stewart said:
“Well, my feeling is this election will never end. So why would I? How could I leave? I won’t be allowed to leave until we’re all ground to some sort of calcified nubs.”
But he had addressed the question more seriously at an event in New York set up by Comedy Central to promote the show’s Emmy chances. “The one thing I will say is I walked away nine years ago because I was burnt out,” Stewart replied to the inevitable question about his future plans. “And I don’t feel that right now. I feel reinvigorated.”
That certainly sounds promising.
But depending on which way the election swings, how far will that re-invigoration take him? Does it mean reinvigorated enough to take on a second Donald Trump Administration? The guy who has fired anti-Semitic shots at Stewart (citing his unmistakably Jewish birth name), who would surely rage at every comic skewering him, maybe even to the point of fulfilling his promise to sic the government on them?
Or reinvigorated enough to take on commenting on a new Democratic Administration, which might be more in line with his own views, but likely nothing close to the cornucopia of comedic material that a Trump Administration might be?
The other consideration has to do with the long-term future of the show itself. Whether Stewart stays or goes, The Daily Show will need to decide whether to stick with a rotating host format or choose one one or more “permanent” hosts and stick to a more predictable schedule.
The powers at Comedy Central surely have had to consider all contingencies, with the outcome as much in doubt as that other impending major decision.
It looks like it may come down to the wire in both cases—with relief or disappointment in abundance.
No more Elections? Stick to writing about tv Bill. It is what you do best.