It was announced earlier this week that comedian and former host of The Daily Show Jon Stewart will debut two new stand-up comedy specials on HBO. The veteran comedian’s last hour-long special, Jon Stewart: Unleavened, aired on HBO over 20 years ago back in 1996.
HBO has not yet unveiled premiere dates for Stewart’s pair of comedy specials. Titles and live taping locations are among the other details not yet confirmed by the premium cable network.
“We’re excited to bring Jon to the network with this pair of specials,” said HBO programming president Casey Bloys. “We’ve all missed his uniquely thoughtful brand of humor.”
Stewart has made appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live! but, for the most part, the Emmy Award-winning comedian has mostly laid low in the wake of his retirement from The Daily Show back in 2015. The news of his forthcoming two-pack of specials comes on the heals of HBO’s announcement that it would be scrapping its highly-ambitious animated cable news series involving the comedian. Stewart had this to say of his new comedy specials:
“I’m really thrilled to be able to return to stand-up on HBO. They’ve always set the standard for great stand-up specials. Plus, I can finally use up the last of the Saddam Hussein jokes left over from my first special.”
Steward inked a four-year production deal with HBO in November of 2015 that gives the network first-look options on film and TV projects. He is slated to host the Autism benefit, “Night of Too Many Stars,” which will air live from Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Nov. 18.