--- title: Jon Stewart's 'The Daily Show' Replacement Should Be a Woman description: It's time to add a female perspective to late-night television canonical: https://time.com/3704294/jon-stewart-the-daily-show-retiring-new-host-woman/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-11T01:34:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:43:02.541Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Jon Stewart's 'Daily Show' Replacement Should Be a Woman og:description: It's time to add a female perspective to late-night television og:url: https://time.com/3704294/jon-stewart-the-daily-show-retiring-new-host-woman/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5db5b02d21dfedc4/69877e94524fc05605dec6a3/459798768.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: IFP's 24th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards - Red Carpet og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jon Stewart's 'Daily Show' Replacement Should Be a Woman twitter:description: It's time to add a female perspective to late-night television twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5db5b02d21dfedc4/69877e94524fc05605dec6a3/459798768.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jon Stewart's Replacement on _The Daily Show_ Should Be a Woman  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Feb 11, 2015 1:34 AM CUT  Amy Schumer attends IFP's 24th Gotham Independent Film Awards at Cipriani, Wall Street on December 1, 2014 in New York City. Amy Schumer attends IFP's 24th Gotham Independent Film Awards at Cipriani, Wall Street on December 1, 2014 in New York City.Theo Wargo—Getty Images for IFP  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Feb 11, 2015 1:34 AM CUT Jon Stewart is leaving _The Daily Show_, and Comedy Central is presumably looking for a replacement. This is a no-brainer: it should be a woman. In the past two years, there’s been so much turnover in late-night television: Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, James Corden and Larry Wilmore have all taken over old shows, or started new ones. A reader needn’t be particularly astute to notice that none of these people are women. There are, in fact, no women on late-night television at all. (Chelsea Handler was reportedly in talks to take the CBS _Late Show_ spot, but ultimately wasn’t chosen. She has an upcoming late-night-style show on Netflix, but it hasn’t aired yet — and technically, it can’t really qualify as a late-night show in the traditional sense, since it’s on a streaming service.) If there is any network that should “take a risk” on a female host, it should be Comedy Central. (Yes, it’s ridiculous that a woman hosting her own show is a “risk” in 2015.) The channel has done tremendous work to bolster the platforms of female comics in the past couple of years, adding shows like _Inside Amy Schumer_ and _Broad City—_which was created by and stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson—to its traditionally male-dominated lineup. Ratings have proven that viewers, including men, will tune in to watch these funny ladies. _Inside Amy Schumer_ was the [most watched series premiere](http://time.com/45771/how-amy-schumer-got-guys-to-think-feminists-are-funny/ "undefined") for the channel in 2013, drawing a 50/50 male-female demographic despite tackling topics like objectification, discrimination and gender politics with a distinctly feminist tone. (Comedy Central’s audience is about 60% male overall.) Meanwhile, _Broad City_ has [earned critical acclaim](http://time.com/3668764/bright-lights-broad-city/ "undefined") and averaged 1.3 million viewers per episode in its first season. Compare that to FX’s _Louie_, which pulls in just over 1 million viewers per episode — despite being in its fourth season with a much better-known comedian at the helm. _The Daily Show_ has long been the core of Comedy Central’s lineup, and without it, the network will depend on these female-led shows to buoy their viewership. Given that, choosing a female host for this empty slot isn’t a matter of affirmative action — it’s just smart business. That’s the dollars and cents argument. Now, for the idealistic one. Comedy Central — and _The Daily Show_ specifically — has long been an incubator for talent. It’s lovingly groomed Stewart, Colbert and Oliver, along with Steve Carell, Ed Helms and more, then sent them on to do bigger and better things. These men have become icons in their own right, an indelible piece of comedy history. It’s time that they do the same thing for a woman. **_Read Next:_**[_How Amy Schumer Gets Guys to Think Feminists Are Funny_](http://time.com/45771/how-amy-schumer-got-guys-to-think-feminists-are-funny/ "undefined") ### 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. 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