The Problem with Jon Stewart

The Problem with Jon Stewart is an American current affairs television series hosted by Jon Stewart on Apple TV+. Each episode focuses on a single issue. The series premiered on September 30, 2021. The second season premiered on October 7, 2022. The series was canceled in October 2023 after two seasons.

Production
In October 2020, as part of a multi-year production deal with Apple, it was announced that Jon Stewart was creating a new current affairs series for Apple TV+, marking his return to the format since leaving The Daily Show in 2015.

Throughout early 2021, the show was building out its production team, hiring Brinda Adhikari to serve as showrunner and executive producer, Chelsea Devantez as head writer, and Lorrie Baranek as Stewart's executive in production in February 2021. Adhikari was a longtime network news veteran before coming on to the show. Around the same time, Busboy Productions posted job listings seeking to fill positions for all aspects of the production.

On April 7, 2021, the title of The Problem with Jon Stewart and a late 2021 premiere date for the series were announced.

Each episode lasted one hour and focused on a single issue that was "currently part of the national conversation and [Stewart's] advocacy work". Apple had said that the show would run for multiple seasons, and that each season would be accompanied by a companion podcast, co-hosted by Stewart and his writing and production staff and following up on each episode.

The series began filming in front of a live studio audience in New York City on July 14, 2021.

Cancellation
On October 19, 2023, it was announced that the show was cancelled due to creative differences between Stewart and Apple, which reportedly involved the show's coverage of artificial intelligence, Israel, and China. On The Daily Show on April 8th 2024, in an interview with FTC Chair Lina Khan, Stewart "rip[ped] into Apple", saying that when he wanted to have Khan on the show, "Apple asked us not do it", presumably due to the FTC's antitrust actions against Silicon Valley firms under her leadership: "“They literally said ‘please don’t talk to her,’ ...having nothing to do with what you do for a living, I don’t think they cared for you.”" According to CNN, Stewart also stated that Apple "wouldn't let him talk about AI", which he did on the same episode of The Daily Show before his interview with Khan. "“What is that sensitivity? Why are they so afraid to have these conversations out in the public sphere?”" CNN also cited Israel among the list of topics Stewart clashed with Apple on. Stewart addressed the Israel Hamas war on The Daily Show in two segments on Feb. 26th, 2024.

Release
The Problem with Jon Stewart premiered its first episode on September 30, 2021, on Apple TV+, with one new episode initially scheduled to premiere every other Thursday. The series is accompanied by a weekly podcast that premiered on September 30, 2021.