Jon Stewart’s (The Daily Show) highly anticipated return to the comedy show, The Daily Show, has finally begun. Almost nine years after initially departing the show, Stewart is set to come back as host through the 2024 presidential election. According to The Hollywood Reporter, before his start, he opened up about some key elements of the show that he is looking forward to upon his return and what exactly drew him back into the world of The Daily Show.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Stewart made the choice to head back to The Daily Show based on the political environment. He also stated that the show will also give him the space to share his thoughts and stresses regarding the election. He also stated that the motivation was based on the split Stewart had with AppleTV+ over creative differences. 

“I very much wanted to have some place to unload thoughts as we get into this election season,” said Stewart about how his series, The Problem With Jon Stewart did not get a third season on AppleTV+, “I thought I was going to do it over at — they call it Apple TV+. It’s a television enclave, very small. It’s like living in Malibu. They decided, they felt that they didn’t want me to say things that might get me in trouble.”

He then continues to talk about his hopes for his upcoming hosting gig and where he can take his conversations. Stewart also emphasized that he doesn’t want to be a political influence, but rather a voice who is having meaningful conversations about the election at hand. 

“I don’t know about hoping to have an influence, but I’m hoping to have a catharsis and a way to comment on things and a way to express them that hopefully people will enjoy,” said Stewart. “But as far as influence, and you guys know from doing this, just about everything I had wanted to happen over the 16 years that I was at The Daily Show did not happen, if you were hoping for influence. And I think I’ve learned that post-Daily Show … I don’t really view it as, ‘I really want to have an influence on this issue, this election,’ things like that.”

It was announced last month that Stewart would return to the Daily Show starting February 12 through the 2024 presidential election. Although he is only returning for the Monday night slot, fans are quite excited for his return. Until then, the search for a permanent full-time host continues. Catch Jon Stewart on The Daily Show at 11 pm EST on Monday nights on Comedy Central.