--- description: Jon Stewart, who transformed The Daily Show into a cultural powerhouse, is leaving the show later this year. title: Jon Stewart Is Leaving 'The Daily Show' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt086ad882f0eab443/69877e8de20a8739e0a8507e/jon-stewart.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Jon Stewart Is Leaving _The Daily Show_ by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/) and [Dan Hirschhorn](/author/dan-hirschhorn/) Updated: Dec 13, 2023 5:50 PM CUTPublished: Feb 10, 2015 11:56 PM CUT  Host Jon Stewart at "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" covers the Midterm elections in Austin with "Democalypse 2014: South By South Mess" at ZACH Theatre on Oct. 28, 2014 in Austin, Texas. Host Jon Stewart at "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" covers the Midterm elections in Austin with "Democalypse 2014: South By South Mess" at ZACH Theatre on Oct. 28, 2014 in Austin, Texas.Rick Kern—Getty Images for Comedy Central by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/) and [Dan Hirschhorn](/author/dan-hirschhorn/) Updated: Dec 13, 2023 5:50 PM CUTPublished: Feb 10, 2015 11:56 PM CUT Jon Stewart, the comedian-turned-faux newsman who transformed _The Daily Show_ into a cultural powerhouse over the course of 16 years at the anchor desk, is leaving the show later this year. Stewart announced his coming departure during the taping of Tuesday night’s show, and Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless confirmed it in a statement. It wasn’t immediately clear what Stewart’s next move will be, nor was it clear who would replace him or whether the show will continue. “For the better part of the last two decades, I have had the incredible honor and privilege of working with Jon Stewart,” Ganeless said. “His comedic brilliance is second to none. Jon has been at the heart of Comedy Central, championing and nurturing the best talent in the industry, in front of and behind the camera. Through his unique voice and vision, ‘The Daily Show’ has become a cultural touchstone for millions of fans and an unparalleled platform for political comedy that will endure for years to come. Jon will remain at the helm of ‘The Daily Show’ until later this year. He is a comic genius, generous with his time and talent, and will always be a part of the Comedy Central family.” Stewart became anchor in 1999, taking a show that Craig Kilborn had started and turning it into a searing nightly political and media satire that left no subject matter—and no political party—unscathed. His fire was trained as often on his real-life media colleagues as it was on the politics or public affairs of the day. Ratings for the show have increased 400% from the year Stewart took over. The show has received 50 Emmy nominations and won 15\. In 2000 and 2004, the show won two Peabody Awards for its coverage of the presidential elections relevant to those years, called “Indecision 2000” and “Indecision 2004,” respectively. And it spawned numerous successful comedy careers, most notably when Stephen Colbert, a _Daily Show_ correspondent, launched _The Colbert Report_. Colbert ended his show late last year for a move to David Letterman’s job at CBS. Other correspondents whose roles on the show shot them to stardom include actor Steve Carell and comedian John Oliver, who just started the second season of his HBO show _Last Week Tonight._ ### See Jon Stewart's Career Over the Years  Jon Stewart takes the reins as anchor of The Daily Show in 1999. Comedy Central/Everett  Stewart gets a cameo as Kevin Gerrity in the 1999 Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy. Columbia  Jay Leno interviews Jon Stewart on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno in 2000. NBC/Getty Images  Stewart plays Marion Frank Stokes in the 2002 black comedy Death to Smoochy Warner Bros.  Jon Stewart and his team win the first of many Emmys for The Daily Show in 2003. Chris Weeks—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Jon Stewart hosts the 78th Academy Awards in 2006. Academy of Motion Picture Arts—WireImage/Getty Images  Stewart has a cameo as himself on The Simpsons in 2008 in the episode "E Pluribus Wiggum." Fox  Steven Colbert and Jon Stewart host the Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear on the National Mall on Oct. 30, 2010 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Jon Stewart interviews President Barack Obama on The Daily Show at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, DC, Oct. 26, 2010. Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  Jon Stewart speaks at the 51st USO Armed Forces Gala & Gold Medal Dinner on Dec. 13, 2012 in New York City. Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Stewart makes his directorial debut in the 2014 drama Rosewater. Open Road Films  Jon Stewart announces his retirement for the end of 2015. Comedy Central **MORE:** [Watch Jon Stewart’s First Episode of _The Daily Show_](http://time.com/3704268/the-daily-show-jon-stewart-first-episode/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3704244/jon-stewart-the-daily-show-leaving/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3704244/jon-stewart-the-daily-show-leaving/"},"headline":"Jon Stewart Is Leaving The Daily Show","datePublished":"2015-02-10T23:56:42.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T17:50:04.000Z","description":"The iconic Comedy Central host will depart later this year","url":"https://time.com/3704244/jon-stewart-the-daily-show-leaving/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt086ad882f0eab443/69877e8de20a8739e0a8507e/jon-stewart.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Hirschhorn","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt086ad882f0eab443/69877e8de20a8739e0a8507e/jon-stewart.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Presents Democalypse 2014: South By South Mess","caption":"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Presents Democalypse 2014: South By South Mess","creditText":"Rick Kern—Getty Images for Comedy Central","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3704244/jon-stewart-the-daily-show-leaving/","name":"Jon Stewart Is Leaving The Daily Show"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Jon Stewart Leaving 'The Daily Show' Later This Year","description":"Jon Stewart announced he will be stepping down as host of \"The Daily Show\" later in 2015. There's no word about his replacement.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/I8CnWx2T/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-02-11T01:12:55.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/I8CnWx2T.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3704244/jon-stewart-the-daily-show-leaving/","duration":"PT46S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3704244/jon-stewart-the-daily-show-leaving/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```