TV Odds: What’s Next For Jon Stewart & HBO?

The impact of Jon Stewart on American comedy can not be overstated. Not only was he a voice of reason amid a political storm for 16 years, he also introduced us to the next crop of political satirists. The world of late night television and political comedy is dominated by his proteges — Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Samantha Bee, Trevor Noah, Larry Wilmore and Michael Che.

Stewart left The Daily Show in August of 2015, just before the craziness of the 2016 election and everything that followed.  He’s appeared on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show a few times to give his two cents, but the late night world just isn’t the same without him.

He had an animated shorts project in the works with HBO for over a year, but the premium network recently announced they are pulling the plug, citing technical issues.

“HBO and Jon Stewart have decided not to proceed with a short form digital animated project… We all thought the project had great potential, but there were technical issues in terms of production and distribution that proved too difficult given the quick turnaround and topical nature of the material. We’re excited to report that we have some future projects together, which you will be hearing about in the near future.”

Stewart still has a four-year contract with HBO, which he signed in November 2015. So what’s next for him? Here are some possibilities.

Odds on What Jon Stewart Will Do Next:

Start another show on HBO: 1/1

With a couple of years left on his HBO contract, there’s still a lot of time to put something together. Former Daily Show correspondent John Oliver has a Daily Show-esque gig with Last Week Tonight and Bill Maher still has his long-running show Real Time with Bill Maher, but those both air weekly. Perhaps Stewart and HBO could collaborate to make a — ahem — daily show.

Finds a way to make the animated series work: 4/1

According to HBO, the project was going to be “an animated parody of a cable news network with an Onion-like portal.” But due to technical issues with production and distribution, the project was deemed infeasible.

The idea sounds promising, though. And there was a lot of excitement surrounding it. Maybe, just maybe, HBO will find a way to make it work.

Write a book: 7/1

During his time at the Daily Show, Stewart and his writers published two best-sellers: America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction and Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race.

With more time on his hands now, Stewart might consider writing another. Perhaps a memoir, or a collection of humorous essays. Whatever it is, it’ll likely fly off the shelves.

Retreats to his animal sanctuary: 19/1

After leaving his show, Stewart and his wife received approval to open a 45-acre animal sanctuary in central New Jersey. With everything going on right now, why would he ever want to leave such a place?

Moves to Canada: 50/1

In a People magazine interview before the election, Stewart said that if Donald Trump won the presidency, he would be “getting in a rocket and going to another planet, because clearly this planet’s gone bonkers.”

Well, while we scour the universe for planets that can sustain human life, Stewart could spend the meantime in Canada.