Jon Stewart gave a stirring defense of writers as tech companies increasingly dominate the entertainment business.
The Daily Show host said the loss of opportunities for writers as technology companies, such as Apple, Netflix and Amazon move further into the business, would be a “tragic thing to lose”.
At an FYC event to promote the Comedy Central late-night host, Stewart, who previously hosted The Problem with Jon Stewart for Apple, said, “We are feeling the plate shift underneath us.”
“We cling onto this idea that what we do is a craft, and we do it for connection. As we watch these tech companies get into content, it is very important for us that writers are part of the process. That the team can touch the product so they can grow as artists. We have a respect for the craft. A tech company buys it and suddenly downgrades a writers room to two people and then gets rid of them when production starts. It’s a tragic thing to lose in this business, the history of the craft. By the way, this speech was written by AI,” he said.
He added that he remains “optimistic that people feel the humanity that’s infused in art”. “Maybe I’m lying to myself, but there’s something about the connection between people. Each week we host, I’m noticing something in the audience that I haven’t seen in a long time. A real need to be in that room together, to connect with each other. A sense of isolation and a feeling of the world being out of control. That room is a revival to some extent,” he said.
Speaking alongside Desi Lydic, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta, and Ronny Chieng at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Los Angeles, Stewart praised the team behind the show that he left in 2015 and returned to in 2024.
“A lot of the people that were there in 2015 are still here. They are phenomenal. You go away for a little and come back, and they’re faster, stronger, funnier, and better. I was blown away at how everyone had taken it to that next level,” he said. “Jen Flanz is the only reason why all of this can happen with the kind of adaptability that it does. She was a PA when I started in 1999 and now is the keeper of the Krusty Krab formula.”
Joking about the current political situation, he added, “This show can shrink to meet the moment.”
The post ‘The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart Defends Writers Amid Tech Growth: “We Are Feeling The Plate Shift Underneath Us” appeared first on Deadline.
