• Entertainment

Here’s Why Jason Jones and Samantha Bee Will Not Be Replacing Jon Stewart on The Daily Show

2 minute read
American Comedy Awards
Samantha Bee and Jason Jones attend 2014 American Comedy Awards at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on April 26, 2014.Cem Ozdel—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
By Daniel D'Addario
Updated: | Originally published: ;

The blows keep coming for Comedy Central in the quest to find a new host for The Daily Show: Longtime show correspondents Jason Jones and Samantha Bee are headed to TBS. The network has picked up an untitled comedy series executive-produced by the married pair and starring Jones as a dad taking his family on a road trip. He’s already announced his departure from The Daily Show.

The sitcom itself is less important than what it augurs for Comedy Central, which has recently seen several Daily Show stars unwilling or unable to take over the powerful nightly franchise. Jessica Williams took herself out of contention to replace Jon Stewart; Stephen Colbert left for CBS, where he’s to replace David Letterman, before Stewart announced his own departure; John Oliver’s contract at HBO was just renewed, while Larry Wilmore’s show is still establishing itself in Comedy Central’s 11:30 p.m. timeslot.

See Jon Stewart's Most Memorable Guests On The Daily Show

Kurt Vonnegut appeared on the show in 2005, one of his last public appearances. Comedy Central
Denis Leary and Jon Stewart have long been friends, so every time the actor appeared on the show, the two comedians would opt to make fun of one another rather than conduct an interview, leaving the audience in stitchesComedy Central
After releasing Hugo in 2011, Martin Scorsese visited the show Comedy Central
Last year, Christopher Walken talked tap dancing on the showComedy Central
Barack Obama appeared on the show in 2005 as a senator, twice in 2008 as a presidential candidate, again in 2010 during his fist term, and finally in 2012 as he ran for a second termComedy Central
First Lady Michelle Obama has appeared twice on the Daily Show, once in 2008 and twice in 2012Comedy Central
During one of Paul Rudd's may appearances on the show, Stewart revealed that the comedian was his first test guest after her took over for Craig KilbornComedy Central
Rachel Maddow was a repeat guest on the show where she described Justice Scalia as a "troll," said she could kill Bin Laden with a spoon and declared she was "embarrassed" by BushComedy Central

The degree to which Stewart’s departure took Comedy Central by surprise is becoming clear in the utter lack of a succession plan. Losing Oliver, who left at a time when it was unclear if he’d ever get the opportunity to replace Stewart, was a significant blow. Losing Bee and Jones to a deal that obviously must have been underway before Stewart’s departure may be yet worse, because it reduces by two the number of credible replacements for Stewart. Across the internet, comedy fans have expressed hope that a star of the caliber of Amy Poehler would take over the fake-news show, but Poehler-esque stars tend to be both expensive and busy with other projects.

An internal candidate would make the most sense, but that category of star just got rarer by two.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com