Jon Stewart (The Daily Show, Jon Stewart: Unleavened, The Colbert Report) recreated his iconic popcorn-eating gif in a new teaser for his return to The Daily Show as reported by ComicBook. The teaser for Stewart’s return was met with both enthusiasm and surprise from audiences.

Stewart originally had hosted The Daily Show for 16 years hosting 4 times a week. As a result of the heavy workload, Stewart stepped away from the show in 2015. Trevor Noah (The Daily Show, Trevor Noah: Son of Patricia, Trevor Noah: Afraid of the Dark) then hosted from 2015 to 2022. Since Noah’s departure from the show, Comedy Central and Paramount have struggled significantly to find a permanent host for the show. 

Hasan Minhaj (Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, Homecoming King, The Daily Show), Chris Rock (Everybody Hates Chris, Top Five, The Chris Rock Show), Amy Schumer (Trainwreck, Inside Amy Schumer, I Feel Pretty), Roy Wood Jr. (This Is Not Happening, The Daily Show, Father Figure), Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, House, Designated Survivor) were all rumored candidates for the series though the show has yet to select a permanent host of the show. 

Currently the host of the show rotates between bench correspondents like ​​Jordan Klepper (The Daily Show, The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, Klepper), Desi Lydic (The Daily Show, Awkward, The Client List), Ronny Chieng (The Daily Show, Crazy Rich Asians, Ronny Chieng: International Student), Michael Kosta (The Daily Show, The Comment Section, Michael Kosta: Detroit. NY. LA.), and Dulcé Sloan (The Daily Show, Chick Fight, The Great North).

Now Stewart will join the show as host on monday nights as well as an executive producer. He will appear on The Daily Show through the 2024 election cycle.

In a statement from the President/CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, Chris McCarthy expressed his enthusiasm for Stewart’s return. “Jon Stewart is the voice of our generation, and we are honored to have him return to Comedy Central’s The Daily Show to help us all make sense of the insanity and division roiling the country as we enter the election season, In our age of staggering hypocrisy and performative politics, Jon is the perfect person to puncture the empty rhetoric and provide much-needed clarity with his brilliant wit.”