
Just hours before Martin Short’s Jiminy Glick takes over guest hosting duties on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, another icon of late-night television is making his return to the genre (… for you to poop on).
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog will make an appearance on the June 26 episode of The Daily Show, according to his X (formerly known as Twitter) account.
Robert Smigel, the voice (and hand) of the cigar-chomping Montenegrin Mountain Hound, first teased the news on Tuesday evening when he wrote: “The Mets are clubbing the Yankees and I, Triumph, am returning to late night television tomorrow! This week’s on a roll!”
That news got the attention of Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who responded: “Please tell us what late night show you’re doing tomorrow.”
“Only for you, Mark,” Smigel responded, alongside an image of Triumph that featured The Daily Show’s logo and the caption “My return to Late Night!”
Triumph originated on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, on which Smigel was head writer, in 1997. Today, the wisecracking hand puppet’s newest shtick is usually shared on his YouTube channel. But he’s been making a quiet return to the spotlight in recent months: Triumph released a new live comedy special in March, and reported from outside the Manhattan courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial was being held in April.
While he originated with Conan, in more recent years, the puppet has made appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, delivering both in studio and from the field pieces. However, Smigel’s character hasn’t been seen on Colbert’s show since February 2020.
In 2022, Smigel and six Late Show crew members were arrested on unlawful entry charges on Capitol Hill while filming a segment for the show. (The charges were dropped days later, and Colbert addressed the story in a monologue, but the segment never aired.) That makes tonight’s Daily Show gig Triumph’s first late-night appearance in more than four years.
While it’s unclear what Triumph will be covering on TDS, it’s bound to be must-see TV. Perhaps Hamill put it best when replying to Triumph’s Daily Show reveal: “More Triumph means more better TV.”