The Daily Show welcomed another first-time contributor to the show last night, giving comedian Chris Distefano some time behind the desk and his own branded segment.
“America has a ton of problems right now, and no one knows who can solve them. But Chris Distefano will give it a try,” host Ronny Chieng said as he introduced a new segment titled “Can Chris Solve It?”
“If you’re like me, you love having opinions on things that you don’t know anything about,” Distefano explained. A slot machine-style spin of topics then appeared on screen, presenting Distefano with various issues for him to try solving, from tariffs and immigration to DOGE and Greenland.
At the end of each, Distefano closed the topic by decreeing “Chrissy solved it” (save for Greenland, which he declared “not solved,” and the topic of trans rights, for which he requested another spin).
Distefano, who has been working the comedy circuit since 2009, currently hosts the popular podcasts Chrissy Chaos and History Hyenas. Over the years, he has guested on Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Gutfeld!.
But traditional TV has not been Distefano’s focus—something he detailed in a Youtube video last week when he first revealed that he was being courted by The Daily Show. The comic asked his Youtube audience directly if he should do the gig, expressing his hesitance and encouraging fans to leave comments with their thoughts.
“They want me to do a piece for The Daily Show, like a little desk piece,” said Distefano. “They want me to be a guy who’s in the middle. They want me to do a piece where it’s like, ‘I love America.’ Which I do. But it’s tough. I’m, like, on the line with do I do that.”
“These days, any type of platform, if it takes me away from this platform… I don’t have a career unless it’s for my fans,” he explained. “So everyone watching and supporting me, that’s why I have a career. Not because of any institutions… Doing these other things, I’ll do them, but only if you guys are like, ‘Yeah, it would be nice to see Chrissy in another thing.’”
Distefano’s commenters largely encouraged the comic to give the Daily Show opportunity a shot. Last night, he did.
