The New Leader of Comedy Central Can’t Commit to Jon Stewart’s Television Future
It’s maybe a little funny that the man who made the call to cancel Colbert and who will now decide the fate of Jon Stewart’s future at Comedy Central and The Daily Show is Mr. Cheeks. That’s right, a man named George Cheeks is the Chairman of TV Media for New Paramount. In the newsletter Status, media reporter Oliver Darcy detailed a lunch he had with Cheeks to discuss the potential changes coming to the network following the Paramount-Skydance merger.
While the most important details include what will happen to Stewart and TDS, Darcy sets the scene with some truly terrifying details first. Mr. Cheeks eats his hamburger with a “fork and knife.” Pick it up with your hands, Mr. Cheeks! Come on!
But now, on to the important details. The Paramount and Skydance merger became official on August 7th, meaning that New Paramount is likely to experience turbulent changes under the leadership of the very A.I.-friendly David Ellison.
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Status detailed that Cheeks had no firm answer on whether Stewart would be receiving a contract renewal. Instead, Cheeks said it was “day one,” and didn’t budge on his position when it was pointed out that contract renewals like Stewart’s are usually done months in advance. Stewart’s contract is set to expire in December 2025 — normally, we’d be hearing right about now that there would be some sort of extension or new deal being signed if Stewart’s future was secure at the network.
If Stewart doesn’t get a renewal, it won’t be too much of a surprise, even if it’s a massive disappointment. Stewart, like Colbert, has been a vocal critic of Paramount’s recent dealings, including the $16 million deal with Donald Trump after the president sued the network over a 60 Minutes interview. In his first hosting gig after Colbert’s cancellation was announced, Stewart said, “I’m not going anywhere… I think.” Then he launched into the most expletive-ridden monologue on television ever, outpacing Scarface for the number of “fucks” per minute.
It was Stewart at his best, but it might have sealed his fate at the network — as he repeatedly begged institutions to “sack up” when it came to dealing with Trump. At least, with Mr. Cheeks at the helm, there’s a joke to be made about Paramount “talking out of their ass” for future segments.
