--- description: “I don’t want to be the guy who takes over for Jon Stewart," Stephen Colbert said title: Why Stephen Colbert Wouldn't Want to Take Over 'The Daily Show' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13d756711de621b8/6987ebba2dce0169249e15f6/stephen-colbert-george-lucas.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 # Why Stephen Colbert Wouldn't Want to Take Over _The Daily Show_ by [Eliza Gray](/author/eliza-gray/) ## Eliza Gray Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 18, 2015 1:56 PM CUT  George Lucas, left, and Stephen Colbert attend the Tribeca Talks: Director Series during the Tribeca Film Festival at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center on April 17, 2015, in New York. George Lucas, left, and Stephen Colbert attend the Tribeca Talks: Director Series during the Tribeca Film Festival at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center on April 17, 2015, in New York.Charles Sykes—Invision/AP by [Eliza Gray](/author/eliza-gray/) ## Eliza Gray Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 18, 2015 1:56 PM CUT Stephen Colbert had a quick response when George Lucas asked him on Friday why he wasn’t taking over _The Daily Show_ from Jon Stewart. “Don’t you think the perfect choice to replace that Jon Stewart fella would have been you?” Lucas asked Colbert at a Tribeca Film Festival panel, according to [Deadline](http://deadline.com/2015/04/stephen-colbert-tribeca-film-festival-1201411910/ "undefined"). “And now you’re working at _Late Show_ where nobody sees you. Who stays up past 1 a.m.? Wouldn’t you say, I’m taking over the crown?” Colbert replied, “I don’t want to be the guy who takes over for Jon Stewart. I’ve worked with him, and my memories of him is that he’s the keenest, most intelligent, most beautifully deconstructive mind—the clearest thinker I ever worked for. I would never get underneath his shadow. Someone else who doesn’t love him as much might have a better time on that show than I ever would.” Stephen Colbert is taking over from David Letterman as the host of _The Late Show_ on CBS, starting this[ fall](http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/cbs-stephen-colbert-late-show-start-date-20150112 "undefined"). Comedian Trevor Noah is set to be Jon Stewart’s replacement on _The Daily Show_. \[[_Deadline_](http://deadline.com/2015/04/stephen-colbert-tribeca-film-festival-1201411910/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3827415/stephen-colbert-jon-stewart-daily-show/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3827415/stephen-colbert-jon-stewart-daily-show/"},"headline":"Why Stephen Colbert Wouldn't Want to Take Over The Daily Show","datePublished":"2015-04-18T13:56:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:29:51.779Z","description":"“I don’t want to be the guy who takes over for Jon Stewart\"","url":"https://time.com/3827415/stephen-colbert-jon-stewart-daily-show/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13d756711de621b8/6987ebba2dce0169249e15f6/stephen-colbert-george-lucas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Gray","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-gray/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13d756711de621b8/6987ebba2dce0169249e15f6/stephen-colbert-george-lucas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"George Lucas, Stephen Colbert","caption":"George Lucas, Stephen Colbert","creditText":"Charles Sykes—Invision/AP","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/3827415/stephen-colbert-jon-stewart-daily-show/","name":"Why Stephen Colbert Wouldn't Want to Take Over The Daily Show"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Trevor Noah Will Replace John Stewart On The Daily Show","description":"Trevor Noah, a young South African comedian who has been a contributor on The Daily Show for barely four months, will replace Jon Stewart as host of the Comedy Central satirical news show.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fkWQyCAv/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-03-30T16:10:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fkWQyCAv.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3827415/stephen-colbert-jon-stewart-daily-show/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3827415/stephen-colbert-jon-stewart-daily-show/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"5 Reasons TV's Top Shows Are So Addictive","description":"Here's a look at how our favorite TV shows—from \"Game of Thrones\" to \"Scandal\" and \"Breaking Bad\"—keep us coming back for more.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/2RqNgPrk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-01-16T20:47:22.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2RqNgPrk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3827415/stephen-colbert-jon-stewart-daily-show/","duration":"PT2M16S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3827415/stephen-colbert-jon-stewart-daily-show/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```