Early Exit
Plans for an eight-episode third season were abandoned after the host and tech giant disagreed over topics relating to China and AI
Jon Stewart is bowing out early from Apple.
The weekly talk series The Problem With Jon Stewart will not be moving forward with a third season on the streaming service, the New York Times first reported. Plans for an eight-episode third season were abandoned amid creative differences between the former Daily Show host and the tech company, specifically over potential topics and guests for the series.
Stewart reportedly told his staff Thursday that Apple disagreed over topics relating to China and artificial intelligence, causing concern among company executives and that at the time, production on season three was already in motion.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, sources told the outlet that Apple informed Stewart that they both need to be “aligned” on show topics and that the host wanted to have full creative control. After the tech giant threatened to cancel the series, Stewart reportedly said he was walking away from the show.
After a seven-year hiatus since departing the Daily Show, the comedian returned to television in 2021 with Apple TV+ series The Problem, which captured Stewart traversing politics and social issues. While the first season struggled to gain traction, the second season premiered in October 2022 and earned five Emmy nominations, including for talk series and writing.
Stewart joined The Daily Show in January 1999, taking over the the Comedy Central news-parody program from Craig Kilborn. He remained the host for 16 years and paved the way for fellow political comedy starts including Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Samantha Bee.