It's been more than a week since Jon Stewart dropped the bomb of his Daily Show departure on us, and he hasn't discussed the matter much since. All we've heard from him since the initial announcement is that he won't stand by while WWE wrestler Seth Rollins plots his takeover of the show.
Last night Stewart recorded his interview for Catie Lazarus' Employee of the Month podcast in front of a small audience. The podcast has yet to be released, but Stewart's comments are already making the rounds. He declined to name specific people who he's like to see replace him on The Daily Show, instead opting to describe his ideal candidate:
"What I want to see there is the next iteration of this idea. I feel like the tributaries of my brain combined with the rigidity of the format. I feel like I used every permutation of that I could possibly use. ... I would love to see the next iteration of that, like John Oliver was able to apply our process to a more considered thing, and it's exciting to watch it evolve and see it mutate and change and fill different gaps and different ideas. That's the part that I'm looking forward to seeing."
He also declined to share his specific plans for life post-Daily Show but insisted his departure isn't a retirement:
"I just needed more flexibility. I got maybe four or five more years with the kids until they really don't want anything to do with me. And I'm just not there. You can't [work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.] for 16 years and think you're going to be able to tell them to not smoke pot. You can't show up at 9 p.m. and go, 'Don't get high. OK, goodnight, sweetheart. ... I feel like I'm going to work maybe more I'll just be able to do it [closer] to [my family]."
Keep an eye out for the entire podcast to release here.
