Read

Quick Answer: “The Daily Show” began 20 years ago as a mix of news and entertainment that focused heavily on “human interest” stories rather than current events. When Jon Stewart became the host, he revolutionized the show’s format and content. Now, even after Stewart’s departure, “The Daily Show” remains an influential source of both news and laughter.

20 years on from its inception, The Daily Show (1996 - ), also known as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 1999 – 2015 and now as The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (2015 - ), continues to be America’s most trusted politi-comedy show. Although long-time host Jon Stewart has repeatedly decried the notion that the newscast satire is or should be a source for legitimate information, the larger public disagrees: Stewart was dubbed America’s Most Trusted Newscaster in a Times poll in 2009, finishing above actual newscasters such as Brian Williams and Katie Couric, and bodies such as University of Pennsylvania and the Pew Research Center have done various studies measuring his viewers’ political knowledge. (For the record, Daily Show viewers seem to be just as if not more well-informed on major issues than people who only watched the cable news.) So how did a satirical show on Comedy Central become one of the most influential news outlets in the country?

The Daily Show wasn’t always so interested in weighty current events. Craig Kilborne, comedian and former ESPN anchor, was the host for the show’s first two years. During this early stage the show was closer to Entertainment Television than the hard-hitting Daily Show of today. As Stephen Colbert told IGN, Kilborne’s run was more focused on “character-driven pieces; like, you know, guys who believe in Bigfoot.” After drama between host Craig Kilborne and co-creator Lizz Winstead, Kilborne left the show in 1998 to host The Late Late Show (1995 - ). Little did he know that his successor, Jon Stewart, would drastically change the direction of the program he was leaving behind.

Craig Kilborne, the original host of The Daily Show (1996 - )

Under Stewart, The Daily Show became less preoccupied with balancing itself as a “hybrid of entertainment and politics” and more of an unabashedly political program. Key in this shift was Ben Karlin, from the satirical newspaper and website The Onion, who joined the show as head writer the same year as Stewart took over as host. Stewart’s and Karlin’s shared acerbic wit and passion for the political slowly changed the outlook and content of the show. This transformation was solidified during the 2000 presidential election recount when, as Jon Stewart told Variety, the production team “suddenly began to feel like [they] were connecting with everything [they] could do.”

This newfound connection that the team found, which allowed the show to “[tap] into the emotional angle of the news,” is what made The Daily Show stand out. Even when bitingly sarcastic, Jon Stewart came across as sincere. On September 20, 2001, the first episode of The Daily Show to be shot after 9/11, Jon Stewart delivered a heart-wrenching monologue about the city and the country that he loves. 12 years later, when One World Trade Center was completed and dubbed the tallest building in North America over Chicago’s Willis Tower, he defended critics of this deeply symbolic decision in a way that only he could: by delivering a viral-ready monologue dissing Chicago’s deep dish pizza into the ground.

Jon Stewart on The Daily Show (1996 - )

Jon Stewart’s tenure on The Daily Show left behind a formidable legacy. The show has won 23 Primetime Emmy Awards since 2001. It has launched or boosted the careers of a string of today’s most popular comedians, including Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Ed Helms, John Oliver and Samantha Bee. The production team has written two best-selling books and the show has inspired spin-off The Colbert Report (2005 – 2015) and spiritual descendent Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014 –), not to mention the many shows and movies that its former cast went on to influence.

Beyond direct continuations of the show, Stewart polished and popularized a form of satirical news presentation that is so integrated into our entertainment today it’s hard to imagine TV before The Daily Show. He essentially took the format of the long-running “Weekend Update” sketch from Saturday Night Live (1975 – ) and fleshed it out into a full show, informed by the desire to make people learn, listen and think, just as much as they laughed.

Stewart’s December 16, 2010 episode is credited with garnering enough public attention for the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, popularly known as the 9/11 First Responders Bill, to help it pass. And, despite Stewart’s intentions, the show became and still is a legitimate news source for many. In fact, a 2006 study by Indiana University examining coverage of the 2004 presidential election found that there was no difference between the amount of “substantive information” provided by The Daily Show and that provided by broadcast news networks.

Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart

After Jon Stewart’s departure, the show was redubbed The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and the young South African comedian took over as host. Noah implemented a few changes to the show’s visual design, but the style of the content has done its best to follow in Stewart’s footsteps. The most impactful change is simply that Trevor Noah is not Jon Stewart – and, for all of the work put into the writing of the show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart largely revolved around Stewart’s personality.

But Noah took over as host less than a year ago. The adjustment has taken time, both for Noah and for the audience – viewership of The Daily Show is down 35% since Stewart’s departure. As Noah has become more comfortable in the role, and as the show has allowed itself to evolve with him, they both have been finding their footing. For example, while Noah focuses less on analyzing the media coverage of major news events than Stewart did, he brings his experience as an immigrant into his work, talking more about international news and race relations than did his predecessor.

Trevor Noah on The Daily Show (1996 - )

As the November presidential elections approach, Noah is primed with the perfect set of circumstances for stepping out of Stewart’s looming shadow and shining on his own. It is predictably difficult for any production to adjust to a new framework after 16 years under the same creative direction, but, after the show’s 20 years on television and against all odds, The Daily Show remains a powerful source of both entertainment and information.