Marc Maron Doesn’t Want to Overstay His Welcome Like Howard Stern

There are a lot of rumors circulating that Howard Stern might finally be retiring. With the end of his five-year contract looming and no news of a renewal at Sirius XM, the 71-year-old might finally go off the air after a decades-long career. Even the big man himself acknowledged the rumors, announcing that he would “tell all” on September 2nd. 

Whether or not that’s actually happening, it’s the belief of some people that it should have happened a long time ago. This new era of Stern is lacking the contemporary shock-jock approach of successors like Charlie Kirk and Joe Rogan, or on the flip side, the serious progressive values and comedy chops that someone like Marc Maron has cornered the market on. 

The end result is that whether or not Stern retires, he’s already worked past the heyday of his legacy. He is now just one of many guys in a very crowded arena, trying to edge in over competition that’s younger, more extreme and unconcerned about form. It’s part of the reason the aforementioned Maron chose to end his show WTF with Marc Maron. In a profile from The Hollywood Reporter, Maron dug into the decision, which he and producer Brendan McDonald mainly attributed to being burnt out after putting out over 1,600 episodes in 16 years. 

It was a decision that earned a bit of scrutiny from Stern. “Howard Stern mentioned us stopping the show,” Maron says. “He said, ‘Well, if they’re burnt out, I must be dead.’ I don’t know if he knows the irony in that. There is something about solidifying a legacy when you stop, as opposed to just fading away.”

Stern might not be completely fading into obscurity — he’s still Sirius XM’s most recognizable name — but many question what he’s doing at this point. When he does finally leave the industry it won’t be as a man on top, it will be as a man who has already climbed the mountain, and for some reason, is kind of just hanging out on the other side. 

“We’ve grown to see it as a body of work,” Maron said on Howie Mandel’s podcast last week. “We haven’t really lost our audience. We’re just we’re just kind… We did it. Why do you have to keep going?”

Maron, who is 62, at least seems like he’s got another act up his sleeve; he’s getting supporting roles in shows like Stick on Apple TV+ and in the Bruce Springsteen biopic. His newest comedy special, Panicked, just premiered on HBO, and despite his derision of the 700,000 podcasts on the market, he’s appeared on several of them to promote Panicked. WTF will end on a high note, and his career will keep on trucking. 

Maybe Stern has no desire to pivot. But he definitely missed the opportunity to leave on a Maron-esque high note a long time ago.