Jon Stewart’s present on Apple’s streaming service is abruptly coming to an finish, in accordance with a number of folks with information of the choice, the results of artistic variations between the tech large and the previous “Day by day Present” host.
Mr. Stewart and Apple executives determined to half methods in latest days, two of the folks mentioned. Members of the present’s employees have been knowledgeable about its finish on Thursday. Taping of episodes for the third season was scheduled to start inside a few weeks, one of many folks mentioned.
The Apple present, “The Downside With Jon Stewart,” debuted to some fanfare two years in the past as Mr. Stewart’s return to the speak present format after a six-year hiatus. As host of “The Day by day Present” from 1999 to 2015, he turned a low-rated Comedy Central late-night collection right into a cultural drive, changing into one of many nation’s best-known media and political critics.
However Mr. Stewart and Apple executives had disagreements over a number of the subjects and friends on “The Downside,” two of the folks mentioned. Mr. Stewart informed members of his employees on Thursday that potential present subjects associated to China and synthetic intelligence have been inflicting concern amongst Apple executives, an individual with information of the assembly mentioned. Because the 2024 presidential marketing campaign begins to warmth up, there was potential for additional artistic disagreements, one of many folks mentioned.
A consultant for Apple declined to remark.
Apple’s foray into leisure has raised the danger of collateral injury to its model or estrangement of the various clients who purchase its dear iPhones and iPads. As of September, Apple TV+ had greater than 19.8 million U.S. subscribers, in accordance with knowledge from the analytics agency Antenna, excluding offers with some distributors.
Delving into present occasions, as Mr. Stewart did on “The Downside,” might have put Apple on the heart of the sorts of political and geopolitical controversies that different main firms have confronted, together with the best way conservatives turned on Disney or liberals protested Starbucks over gun security considerations. Although Apple hadn’t confronted comparable boycotts or criticism, the chance was there with every episode — 20 in all.
In its two seasons, “The Downside” confronted a number of hot-button subjects, together with gun management and gender identification.
The present initially had issue gaining traction. By the second season, although, a number of interviews generated viral clips on-line, and the season was nominated for the excellent speak collection Emmy. (The prime-time Emmys ceremony is scheduled for Jan. 15.)
Now “The Downside” will be part of the various different speak exhibits that did not survive within the streaming world, together with ones hosted by Sarah Silverman, Norm Macdonald, Chelsea Handler and Joel McHale. Netflix, which made a number of makes an attempt at a chat present, has moved on from the format.
Streaming exhibits normally rely upon a major shelf life, whereas cable and community speak exhibits lean on the urgency of a topical information cycle.
Liz Day contributed reporting.