Last Updated on April 19, 2022
Last September, former Daily Show host Jon Stewart launched a new show with Apple+. The Problem With Jon Stewart has not been the ratings hit Apple executives hoped it would be, however. Since its debut episode, the show has lost 80% of its viewership.
“The Problem with Jon Stewart” was launched in Sept 2021 on Apple TV+. In a notable shift. Jon Stewart has adopted stances further to the left in his new show. He has frequently discussed topics such as systemic racism, gender ideology, and support for pharmaceutical giants.
While Stewart has always supported the Democratic Party, he did not use woke jargon that has become commonplace on the modern left during his initial run. Stewart’s Daily Show success was largely built off poking fun at the unpopular Bush Administration, as well as cable news, with a particular emphasis on Fox.
In order to keep up with the modern left, Jon Stewart has adopted stances that were taboo during his peak. The results have been abysmal, as the show appears to be tanking.
According to the measurements from Samba TV, which were reported on by the New York Post, the first episode of Jon Stewart’s new show was seen by just 180,000 US homes in the first week it debuted last fall. By episode five, the program was pulling in just 40,000 viewers.
“The Problem with Jon Stewart” was expected to draw numbers similar to that of John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight”, which drew 844,000 viewers for an episode in late March. Oliver rose to prominence as a correspondent on Stewart’s heyday on Comedy Central.
Apple hasn’t disclosed the show’s viewership numbers, though Entertainment Weekly said the show is the No. 1 unscripted series on Apple TV+, citing “sources.”
“We are thrilled that ‘The Problem with Jon Stewart’ has resonated with viewers all over the world,” Molly Thompson, head of unscripted and documentaries at Apple TV+, told Bloomberg. “The series has sparked complex conversations about critical issues, and we’re proud to team with Jon for season two and beyond.”
