The next phase of Jon Stewart’s career will take him to HBO where he’s signed a production contract for four years, the cable channel announced Tuesday.
Stewart’s first project will be the creation of “short-form digital content” in which he riffs on “current events through his unique prism,” HBO said.
The short videos will appear on HBO Now, the channel’s streaming service. It’s unclear how much material Stewart will turn out, but his content will be “refreshed” multiple times a day, according to HBO’s statement.
“Appearing on television 22 minutes a night clearly broke me,” Stewart said in a statement. “I’m pretty sure I can produce a few minutes of content every now and again.”
Under the terms of the deal, HBO and Stewart could also develop television programs or films.
Stewart started hosting "The Daily Show" in 1999 and left in August. He had a role on HBO’s “The Larry Sanders Show” earlier in his career.
This is the second big pickup recently for HBO. The network signed popular sportswriter and former ESPN personality Bill Simmons to a contract in July.
“Jon Stewart led a revolution that changed the face of TV comedy on the ‘Daily Show,’” said Michael Lombardo, president of HBO Programming. “He graced our network nearly 20 years ago, so we’re thrilled to welcome back his immense talents in this next chapter of his career.”
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