In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jon Stewart confirms he did indeed have discussions with NBC about the possibility of the “Daily Show” host taking on one of broadcast news’ most storied programs, “Meet the Press”. “My guess is they were casting as wide and as weird a net as they could,” he says. “I’m sure part of them was thinking, ‘Why don’t we just make it a variety show?'”
While the offer could have been exceptionally lucrative, Stewart tells the magazine he never really considered it:
“I felt like that was one of those situations,” he says, “where someone says, ‘We really like what you do. Why don’t you come over here and do something different, maybe something you don’t do as well, for us?’ I can understand notionally where it comes from. News and entertainment have melded in a way. But they would be overcompensating on the entertainment side. That’s certainly not an outlandish decision, although I don’t necessarily think that’s the best direction for it.”
Advertisement