‘That is a surprise’: John Oliver compares Jon Stewart to Michael Jordan upon part-time Daily Show return, while saying the show should still appoint Roy Wood Jr or Amber Ruffin as permanent host while Trevor Noah cheers comeback

Former Daily Show correspondent John Oliver was stunned when he heard the news of Jon Stewart’s return to the late night program and compared it to Michael Jordan’s comeback.

Oliver worked at the Comedy Central program from 2006 to 2013, including an acclaimed guest hosting stint that earned him the offer to host HBO’s Last Week Tonight.

In an interview with the Today Show Wednesday, Oliver broke the news to him before the chat started.

“I mean, that’s a surprise,” Oliver said. ‘That’s a show that needs a presenter. He’s certainly a very, very good one. So yeah, it’ll be exciting to see what he does.”

The Daily Show has infamously been without a host since Trevor Noah left at the end of 2022, with a series of guest hosts filling the slot before and after the WGA strike.

Comedy Central said Stewart will host every Monday night starting February 12, with a rotating lineup of regulars for the rest of the week, and will serve as executive producer.

Oliver suggested former correspondent Roy Wood Jr. and former NBC host Amber Ruffin as potential permanent replacements, but admitted he was excited to see what Stewart will do ahead of the 2024 battle for the White House.

“I would have hired Roy Wood, otherwise Amber Ruffin is very good, but it will be very exciting to see Jon again in an election year,” Oliver added.

Wood Jr., a regular Daily Show correspondent, left the show in October because he was not considered for the full-time hosting job.

He then compared it to Michael Jordan retiring and then returning to the NBA, saying, “Jordan is back.”

Many thought Oliver was a potential successor to Stewart before he signed on to host his HBO show, which has been running since 2014.

Noah, for his part, posted his excitement to X: “Yes, he’s back.”

The South African comedian was scheduled to be a guest on fellow Daily Show alum Stephen Colbert’s CBS show on Monday evening.

Oliver worked at the Comedy Central program from 2006 to 2013, including an acclaimed guest hosting stint that earned him the offer to host HBO’s Last Week Tonight

Former host Trevor Noah, for his part, posted his excitement to X: ‘Yessssssss, he’s back’

Colbert, who made extensive use of Stewart’s talents as a guest and commentator after leaving Comedy Central, has not yet commented.

Stewart made a joke referencing college football’s transfer portal when he announced his return to the show on X.

‘Friends. After much consideration, I have decided to enter the transfer portal for my final year of eligibility. Excited for the future!’

Stewart kept the masses laughing for 16 years as host of The Daily Show with his George W. Bush impersonations and comedic conversations with correspondents Colbert, Oliver and Samantha Bee.

His satirical take on the day’s events often provided more insight into reality than some mainstream news channels. He left the show in 2015, handing it over to Noah. The Daily Show has not had a permanent host since Noah left last year.

“Jon Stewart is the voice of our generation, and we are honored that he is returning to Comedy Central’s The Daily Show to help us all understand the madness and division roiling the country as we enter election season,” said President and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios Chris McCarthy.

Jon Stewart returns to The Daily Show as weekly host and executive producer during the presidential election season

The comedian made the masses laugh for 16 years as host of The Daily Show with his George W. Bush impersonations and comedic exchanges with correspondents Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Samantha Bee

Stewart hosted The Daily Show for sixteen years and handed it over to Trevor Noah in 2015

The Daily Show has not had a permanent host since Trevor Noah left last year

“In our age of staggering hypocrisy and performative politics, Jon is the perfect person to cut through the empty rhetoric and provide much-needed clarity with his brilliant humor.”

Under Stewart’s leadership, The Daily Show won more than twenty Primetime Emmy awards.

Stewart posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Friends. After much consideration, I have decided to enter the transfer portal for my final year of eligibility. Excited for the future!’

Noah left The Daily Show after seven years at the helm, during which the late-night infotainment show’s viewership dropped dramatically.

Since his departure, comedians such as Kal Penn, Charlamagne Tha God, Leslie Jones, Sarah Silverman and Marlon Wayans have alternated hosting the show.

At the Emmy Awards last week, Wood was caught saying a subtle message as Noah accepted an award.

Lip readers realized that while standing next to South African-born Noah and accepting the Emmy, Wood uttered the phrase, “Please hire a host.”

Wood confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter, “I said, ‘Please hire a host.’ I probably shouldn’t have done it, but this has been going on too long. Get it together!…But I’m so happy that (Noah) won.”

He first took over the show in 1999 and under his leadership, The Daily Show won more than 20 Primetime Emmy awards

Apple has canceled Stewart’s sequel to The Daily Show, The Problem with Jon Stewart

Stewart apologized for publicly mocking transgender Caitlyn Jenner after she publicly transitioned to her new self when he hosted the show

Hasan Minhaj was reportedly one of the leading candidates to replace Noah, but was taken out of the running when the New Yorker published an interview in which he admitted to making up many of his stories.

Minhaj hit back, saying the claims were “needlessly misleading” and promising he was “not a psychopath.”

In October, Apple canceled Stewart’s sequel to The Daily Show, The Problem with Jon Stewart.

The weekly series prides itself on delving deep into important issues through interviews and discussion.

However, the show was labeled as boring and left in the past by critics who said it didn’t get a single laugh from it, and that it harked back too much to his old Daily Show.

The show only briefly made headlines for an episode in which Stewart issued a formal apology for old jokes of his that mocked transgender people.