The Daily Show is firming up its plans for coverage of the two major political conventions this summer — including a pair of live shows with Jon Stewart.
Comedy Central’s late-night show — which has enjoyed a sizable upswing in ratings since Stewart’s return in February — will go live on the final night of each convention: July 18 for the Republicans in Milwaukee and Aug. 22 for the Democrats in Chicago. Stewart will host the live episodes, moving from his usual Monday-night spot in the anchor’s chair to the end of the week.
The show’s news team will host the Monday-Wednesday shows (which will be taped a few hours ahead of their 11 p.m. ET/PT airing) during the convention weeks as part of The Daily Show’s “Indecision 2024” coverage. Correspondents Ronny Chieng, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta and Desi Lydic will be on hand at both convention sites; Dulcé Sloan, Lewis Black and newcomers Troy Iwata, Josh Johnson and Grace Kuhlenschmidt round out the news team.
Comedy Central has also set the venues for the convention shows. The Daily Show will film at the Marcus Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee from July 15-18, just blocks from the site of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum. In Chicago from Aug. 19-22, the show will originate from the Athanaeum Center for Thought & Culture on the city’s North Side, a few miles from the Democratic National Convention site at the United Center. (Ticket requests for both Milwaukee and Chicago are open.)
The Daily Show won’t be the only late-night show in Chicago for the Democratic convention. Stephen Colbert (himself a former Daily Show regular) is bringing CBS’ Late Show to town that week as well.
The 2024 conventions will resume a Daily Show tradition of traveling for the national party conventions in presidential election years. The show didn’t travel in 2020, when it was in remote production during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic — and the conventions themselves were scaled back considerably. Prior to that, The Daily Show went on the road to at least one of the convention cities every four years dating back to 2000.
“It’s the most consequential and important election we’ve had in a generation,” Daily Show executive producer and showrunner Jen Flanz wrote in a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month. “But, so was 2000. And, so was 2008. And, definitely 2016. And, of course, 2020. So yes, all of these elections are really important to the fate of the nation — each one in its own way. We’re already 87,209 jokes deep into covering this one. And if I’m lucky, we’ll be covering the 2028 election with our show and amazing cast, staff and crew.”
