Tonight, after more than 16 years and 2,500 episodes, Jon Stewart is stepping down as host of “The Daily Show.”
Stewart steered the show through four US presidential elections, 9/11 and the 2008 economic collapse. His show could easily be credited with making sarcasm and political satire a second language in the US.
For many fans, it’s difficult to imagine a new face behind the desk. Some have even resorted to begging.
But don’t worry. Today, there are so many options out there for fans of “The Daily Show” formula, combining news and humor. Here are a few reminders of what's out there.
Comedy Central
OK — wait, stick with us for a minute.
We know there was a lot of controversy surrounding the South African comedian when he was first announced as the new host. He’s relatively unknown, having only done three Daily Show segments before the announcement that he would be taking over. Plus, he immediately faced backlash after fans discovered a number of years-old tweets that were seen as anti-Semitic and sexist.
But there are plenty of reasons to return to “The Daily Show” on Sept. 28, when Noah first takes the desk. His humor is just as biting as Stewart’s, and he brings a much younger voice to the show. And as for the off-color humor? Many South Africans say Americans just need to lighten up a bit to get the joke.
The Onion
This one is a bit of a wild card. The parody news website The Onion just premiered their first episode of a web series called EDGE, which is a spoof of VICE’s ‘edgy’ style. Their first episode “Beyond the Brink: How the Israeli Occupation Has Made It Impossible For Palestinians to Score Drugs” features bumbling reporter Nic Moss. It’s way more over-the-top than “The Daily Show,” but the commentary on the state of the media is just as biting, if not more so.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
A member of the school of Stewart, Colbert hosted “The Colbert Report” for almost a decade, and left a mob of heartbroken fans when he announced he was leaving. But he’ll be back on Sept. 8th, taking over for David Letterman as host of “The Late Show”. Before now, Colbert has played a larger-than-life caricature of a right wing cable news pundit, closely resembling Bill O'Reilly. But when he steps into this new role, he'll be playing himself.
Stephen Lovekin
Wilmore is another Daily Show alum. His show, which also deals with his take on the news, has been on air since January of this year, so there’s still time to be one of the original fans. The format of the show is a little different, as it involves panel discussions and a regular game called ‘Keep it 100’, but if you can get used to the format of the ‘Best F*cking News Team’, then this shouldn’t be too much of a stretch.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
This one is pretty obvious.
If you’ve been on YouTube in the past year, you’ve probably come across one of Oliver’s many hilarious rants about the news. Most recently, he made waves by dedicating nearly 20 minutes of his show to the topic of Washington DC statehood.
There are quite a few honorary mentions to this list, including Bill Maher's "Real Time with Bill Maher." If the news didn't bring you to "The Daily Show," but the commentary on society did, you might like Amy Schumer's "Inside Amy Schumer" or the new web-series "Experimenting with Megan Amran," which is part of Amy Poehler's Smart Girls.
What else should be on this list? Let us know in the comments.
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