Senior British correspondent-made-host John Oliver concluded his stay behind the wheel of The Daily Show vehicle last night to make way for Jon Stewart’s return.
Oliver has been anchoring the show since June 10 upon Stewart’s departure to Jordan to direct his first film, “Rosewater”. Opening the show with humorous, fake reports on Jon Stewart’s whereabouts during his brief absence from the show and the reoccurring skit titled “Can’t You At Least Wait Until Jon Stewart Gets Back” constantly informs fans that Oliver’s position is only temporary and leads Daily Show fanatics to be far less judgmental of the replacement, reported Vulture.
Positive reviews and consistent viewership (though less in comparison to the same time last summer which was an election cycle) during Oliver’s time as host proves to Viacom Entertainment Group president Doug Herzog that there could be an existence for the show if Stewart ever decided to hang up the towel, Deadline reported.
“I worked on this show for seven years, like, being a kind of NASCAR pit member, ” Oliver explained to PBS’ Charlie Rose on Monday. “I knew how the engine worked, but I never got to drive it before. And only when you drive it do you realize how fast it goes. …The show is an amazing machine. I’m even more impressed with the whole machine now than I was before.”
Stewart will return September 3.