The Daily Show

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Premiere	July 22, 1996
Airs	Monday-Thursday at 11PM (North America) Monday-Friday at 8:30PM (UK)
Creator	Madeleine Smithberg Lizz Winstead
Host	Craig Kilborn (1996-1998) Jon Stewart (1999-2015; Mondays 2024-) Trevor Noah (2015-2022)
Network/Provider	Comedy Central (USA) CTV (Canada seasons 1-28) More4 (UK)
Style	30-minute comedy news talk show
Company	Mad Cow Productions (seasons 1-7), Ark Angel Productions (seasons 20-)
Seasons	29
Episodes	4,236 + 26 specials (through season 28)
Status	Currently airing season 29
Origin	USA
Official Site	The Daily Show

The Daily Show is a 30-minute news program which focuses on satirizing and poking fun at current events. An "international" version also broadcasts weekly on CNN in Europe.

History

At its inception in 1996, the show was hosted by former ESPN SportsCenter anchor Craig Kilborn, who developed the news program as more of an entertainment gossip show. Kilborn often joked that he was playing the "enlightened frat boy" character. Despite this difference in tone, Kilborn pioneered many of the endearing qualities of the series including the basic format of headlines, fake "live" segments and the Moment of Zen. Kilborn also notably ended all of his interviews with Five Questions, which was pulled from a pick-up line he devised and later became the source behind the first Daily Show book. In 1998, Kilborn left the series to host The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn and placed several of these concepts (including "Moment for Us") on embargo for use on his new show. After a four month hiatus, Kilborn was replaced by comedian and talk show host Jon Stewart.

Stewart took the series in a far more political direction. While Kilborn was the face of the previous three years, he did not write any of the material and, according to contributor Beth Littleford, was as "dumb as a post." Stewart, on the other hand, signed on as a co-executive producer and writer, as well as host. He focused the news content into sharper political satire rather than less sophisticated jokes that didn't probe the issue at hand. This new focus combined with in-depth Indecision 2000 election coverage caused the series to explode in popularity and critical acclaim.

The format for the series is generally static and has remained in the same for its entire tenure. The first block of the show is made up of what was once known as "Headlines," a brief run-down of some of the events of the day, often with commentary from a correspondent in a "live" setting (in actuality, they're a few feet from the desk in front of a green screen). The second block is typically taken up by a produced segment or a recurring bit like Back in Black or This Week in God. The third block is occupied by an interview with the night's guest.

This format isn't set in stone, however. The interview segment is occasionally extended into the second block, usually this happens when the interview has far more potential than any of the produced segments on hand or when the guest has a high degree of notoriety, like former presidents (Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter have both appeared), dignitaries (Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf) and controversial figures (Bernard Goldberg). The final minutes of the show are taken up lately by an occasional conversation between Stewart and Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report (a Daily Show spin-off), through a fiberoptic link between their shows and, ultimately, the Moment of Zen.

The series spun off The Colbert Report, which was derived from a fake commercial in which Stephen Colbert played the role of a loud-mouthed pundit in the style of Bill O'Reilly. It began broadcasting in 2004.

In 2013, Stewart took a twelve-week leave to direct a film. During this time, long-time correspondent John Oliver took over as guest host. Oliver's stint was well received, and led to HBO offering him his own show. The last episode of 2013 was Oliver's last episode, with him starting Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in April 2014.

In 2015, Stewart announced he would be leaving the show, and his replacement was revealed to be Trevor Noah, who had become a contributor in December 2014. Stewart's final episode aired on August 6, 2015 and Noah's first episode as host will be on September 28, 2015.

In 2022, Noah announced he would be leaving the show and his final episode will air December 8, 2022. Starting January 17, 2023, the show will feature guest hosts until the fall.

Years

Year/Season	Premiere	Finale				Episodes
Comedy Central
Season One	July 22, 1996	December 19, 1996				65
Season Two	January 6, 1997	December 18, 1997				160
Season Three	January 5, 1998	December 17, 1998				161
Season Four	January 11, 1999	December 21, 1999				159
Season Five	January 5, 2000	December 21, 2000				160
Season Six	January 9, 2001	December 20, 2001				161
Season Seven	January 8, 2002	December 19, 2002				160
Season Eight	January 7, 2003	December 18, 2003				159
Season Nine	January 6, 2004	December 16, 2004				162
Season Ten	January 4, 2005	December 15, 2005				159
Season Eleven	January 4, 2006	December 20, 2006				161
Season Twelve	January 8, 2007	November 1, 2007				133
Season Thirteen	January 7, 2008	December 11, 2008				159 + 1
Season Fourteen	January 5, 2009	December 16, 2009				161
Season Fifteen	January 4, 2010	December 16, 2010				161 + 1
Season Sixteen	January 3, 2011	December 15, 2011				160
Season Seventeen	January 3, 2012	December 13, 2012				159
Season Eighteen	January 7, 2013	December 19, 2013				160
Season Nineteen	January 6, 2014	December 18, 2014				156
Season Twenty	January 5, 2015	August 6, 2015				101 + 1
Season Twenty-One	September 28, 2015	September 29, 2016				164
Season Twenty-Two	October 3, 2016	September 28, 2017				163 + 13
Season Twenty-Three	October 2, 2017	September 27, 2017				159 + 9
Season Twenty-Four	October 1, 2018	September 26, 2019				158 + 1
Season Twenty-Five	September 30, 2019	September 24, 2020				160
Season Twenty-Six	September 28, 2020	June 17, 2021				111
Season Twenty-Seven	September 13, 2021	September 29, 2022				149
Season Twenty-Eight	October 3, 2022	December 14, 2023				122
Season Twenty-Nine	February 12, 2024	—				—

Cast

Personality		Duration
Hosts		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27
Craig Kilborn		*	*	*
Jon Stewart					*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Trevor Noah																						*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Current Correspondents		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27
Roy Wood Jr.																						*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Desi Lydic																						*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Ronny Chieng																						*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Michael Kosta																							*	*	*	*	*	*
Dulcé Sloan																								*	*	*	*	*
Orange/Red/o indicates a recurring or guest role during that season. Dark Green indicates top billing during that season.
Current Contributors		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27
Lewis Black (Back in Black)		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Jordan Klepper (Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse)																										*	*	*
Past Correspondents
Michael Showalter		1
David Wain		1
Lizz Winstead		1	2
A. Whitney Brown		1	2	3
Brian Unger		1	2	3
Beth Littleford		1	2	3	4	5
Stephen Colbert			2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Laura Kightlinger				3
Mo Rocca				3	4	5	6	7	8
Denny Siegel					4
Vance Degeneres					4	5	6
Nancy Walls					4	5	6	7
Stacey Grenrock-Woods					4	5	6	7	8
Steve Carell					4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Jerry Minor						5
Miriam Tolan						5	6
Matt Walsh						5	6	7
Eric Drysdale							6
David Pompeii							6
Lauren Weedman							6	7
Mary Birdsong								7
Adrianne Frost								7
Rachael Harris								7	8
Rob Corddry								7	8	9	10	11	12
Ed Helms								7	8	9	10	11		13
Samantha Bee									8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Jason Jones											10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Jon Glaser											10
Nathan Corddry											10	11
Dan Bakkedahl											10	11	12
Rob Riggle												11	12	13
John Oliver												11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Aasif Mandvi (Senior Middle East)												11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
Wyatt Cenac														13	14	15	16	17
Josh Gad															14	15	16
Olivia Munn																15	16
Al Madrigal																	16	17	18	19	20	21
Jessica Williams																		17	18	19	20	21
Michael Che																				19
Jordan Klepper																				19	20	21	22
Hasan Minhaj																				19	20	21	22	23
Jaboukie Young-White																									24	25	26
Past Contributors		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27
John Bloom		*	*	*
Rich Brown		*	*	*
Frank DeCaro		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Paul F. Tompkins				*
Dave Attell					*	*	*	*
Andy Kindler						*
Bob Wiltfong										*	*
Demetri Martin											*	*	*	*	*
John Hodgman (Resident Expert)												*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Larry Wilmore												*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	o
Buck Henry													*	*
Kristen Schaal (Senior Women's Issues Commenter)														*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Trevor Noah																					*
Orange/Red/o indicates a recurring or guest role during that season. Dark Green indicates top billing during that season.

In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series
• Recurring Segments: Frequently recurring segments from the series.

DVD Releases

Title			Release			Discs
Episode Collections  (Region 1)
Indecision 2004 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart			June 28, 2005			3

External Sites

• Official website for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• Daily Show with Jon Stewart Episodes, TV Listings, News, Photos and More at TVGuide.com