Before Paramount's "The Daily Show" went on a month-long hiatus in August, host Jon Stewart gave his thoughts on the state of late-night television.
"We're all basically operating a Blockbuster kiosk inside a Tower Records," he said of the dire financial models. His sharp critique came after CBS announced it would cancel "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" after the next season's wrap in May 2026. The studio also ended "The Late Show" franchise altogether.
In the days of YouTube videos and podcasts, often put together on a shoestring budget, it's harder to justify highly produced expensive late-night shows.
The Deseret News spoke to "The Daily Show" director David Paul Meyer to ask him about the future of late-night television and what it's like manning a satirical, politically charged show in today's divided climate.
This year marks a decade since Meyer joined Comedy Central's late-night show. Meyer came aboard when Trevor Noah was host. Since Noah's departure in 2022, the program hasn't hired a permanent host, but Jon Stewart, a former host of the show, stepped in to host one night a week.
Other anchors on the roster are Ronny Chieng, comedian and actor who starred in "Crazy Rich Asians," Jordan Klepper, who started as a correspondent on the show in 2014, Michael Kosta, who has been with the show since 2017, and Desi Lydic, also known for her role in MTV's "Awkward."
As for Stewart, this is his second run as host of "The Daily Show," after being at the helm from 1999 to 2015. The cancellation of his Apple TV show, "The Problem with Jon Stewart" came at a time when "The Daily Show" was looking for a lifeline. It may be working.
Ratings from the months of April, May and June this year are the best the show has seen in 10 years, according to a Deadline report. Viewership among people between ages 18 and 49 was up by 44% from last year, and on streaming, Paramount+, it was up by 21%. The ratings climbed on Monday nights, Stewart's day to host, from 511,000 to 550,000 viewers.
The report adds that the network touted "The Daily Show" as the "most viewed late-night talk show across social" in that quarter, earning more than 1.8 billion views during those three months.
While Stewart may be the face of the show, Meyer is the maestro, juggling directing and producing a program that tapes Monday through Thursday.
"I like to divide my day between upstairs and downstairs," he said about the sometimes very literal split of his director and executive producer duties.
By the time Meyer walks into his office, the host has already met with the writers and the showrunner to sketch out ideas for the day. Meyer sits with producers and the showrunner, Jennifer Flanz, to chat about what visual elements are needed to bring the show to life.
"Sometimes it might be that John wants us to use the Stephen Miller masks (and) have a bunch of Stephen Millers running around set, which we did in one of our shows," he said with a laugh. Miller is one of President Donald Trump's closest advisers.
All the hosts on "The Daily Show" have their own unique voices and a say in the monologue. As do the writers.
"That's what's always made 'The Daily Show' great," Meyer said.
The process of refining ideas becomes a delicate dance; the consideration of a wide range of opinions while preserving a host's perspective.
"In those morning meetings where they're watching the news, you hear people throwing out jokes and stuff," Meyer said, adding that they also hear differing opinions that turn into deeper discussions and debate.
"We're not afraid to have those conversations ... and disagreements internally because we know, ultimately, we're pushing for the same goal: To have the most biting, funny, satirical commentary out there."
Meyer said they also rely on the show's researcher and fact checker, who is unafraid to push back on uneven or factually incorrect takes.
And they are doing this at a time when political division is at an all-time high in the U.S. -- at least according to the polls.
Meyer agreed the division is very evident.
"People feel very strongly about this stuff and I would extend it to our audience," he said. "They're not just people who lap up whatever you're saying."
The audience's political beliefs often manifest themselves as comments online, which, for Meyer, means the audience is engaged -- and that's a good thing for late night.
But at the end of the day, all Meyer, and other members of the Emmy-award winning crew can do is put their faith in the process and come up with an "articulated argument" to continue the nightly programming.
"The Daily Show" leans on tried and tested principles. For instance, Meyer said, "you can always go after power. We look at the institutions of power on our show, we ridicule and satirize them."
They've been doing it for almost 30 years and under many presidents. "Obviously, the current administration is, let's say, unique."
But even on days when the Trump White House's moves create shockwaves in the media and television industry, the crew tries to keep its eye on the ball, Meyer said.
"As Jen, our showrunner, always says, 'the thing that we can control is making a good show every day,'" Meyer said.
The same can be said when wondering about the longevity of late-night television.
Stewart, in his monologue following the cancellation of Colbert's show, said, "When CDs stopped selling, you didn't just go, 'Oh well, music, it's been a good run.'"
He went on to insinuate a larger play at hand.
"The fact that CBS didn't try to save their number one rated network late-night franchise, that's been on the air for over three decades, is part of what's making everybody wonder: Was this a purely financial or maybe the path of least resistance for your $8 billion merger with killing a show that you know rankled a fragile and vengeful president."
Colbert, too, protested the decision, saying, "for the next 10 months, the gloves are off," during his monologue three weeks ago. Others, like David Letterman, who hosted "The Late Show," and Trey and Matt Stone, the creators of "South Park" also offered criticism.
Meyer said he's "always been a fan of Colbert," even before he began his hosting gig. "The Daily Show" director would tune into "The Colbert Report," which ran for 9 seasons on Comedy Central after its debut in 2005.
"I think he's brilliant," Meyer said. "I think even beyond what he's doing now, he's going to continue to do great things. ... Obviously, I, you know, you want to see these shows continue."
In the last two minutes of a 20-minute conversation, the Deseret News asked Meyer an impossible question. "Jon Stewart or Trevor Noah?"
"I can't answer that," he laughed. "Trevor and I have a history. We go way back."
They got acquainted in 2008, and went on to experience a genuine friendship and several full circle moments, he said.
It starts with "The Daily Show," actually. Meyer would watch the show as a freshman, while he was studying film at the University of Southern California.
When it came to pursuing a thesis, he took inspiration from Stewart, the host at the time, and decided to dive into the stand-up comedy scene in South Africa. There he met Noah on stage and brought back the footage with him to the U.S.
At the time, Meyer also told Noah to watch "The Daily Show."
"He said, 'OK, I'll check it out.'" Then, seven years later, when Noah got the gig to host the show, he asked Meyer to join him.
After Noah's exit in 2022, Stewart stepped up to host once a week.
"I just count myself lucky to be able to work with both of them," Meyer said.
Stewart "makes us better," the director said. "He demands high performance and I love that he pushes us and challenges us."
And they hope that means they'll stick around.
The Daily Show is rated TV-14 for moderate profanity, mild sex and nudity and mild violence and gore.