On Monday’s NBC Today, 9 a.m. ET hour co-hosts Tamron Hall and Willie Geist mourned Jon Stewart’s final week anchoring The Daily Show. Hall proclaimed: “Oh my goodness, it is the end of an era. In a few days Jon Stewart will bid farewell to The Daily Show and all of us.” Geist added: “It felt for a while like it was way off in the distance when he first announced it and now here it is.”
Hall was particularly worried about Stewart’s absence following Thursday’s first Republican presidential debate: “What the saddest thing about this is that the Republican first debate is Thursday night. So we don't have Jon Stewart Friday.” Geist realized: “Oh, that’s right...Wait a minute, I didn’t think about that.”
He and Hall pleaded for the liberal comedian to stay. Geist declared: “Oh, he should finish Friday.” Hall agreed: “He's got to move it back one day, please.” Geist added: “Wow. Jon, think about it, man.” Hall concluded: “Jon, don’t do it. One more day.”
Of course The Daily Show never aired on Fridays, so there would no post-debate show anyway.
Here is a full transcript of the August 3 exchange:
9:13 AM ET
HALL: Oh my goodness, it is the end of an era. In a few days Jon Stewart will bid farewell to The Daily Show and all of us.
GEIST: That’s right. Here to tell you what Jon has in store this week, along with the other big events to mark on your calendar, SiriusXM’s Entertainment Weekly radio host and our good buddy, Jessica Shaw. Jess, good morning. Good to see you.
JESSICA SHAW: Hi, good morning.
GEIST: Alright, let's talk about the finale of The Daily Show. It’s this Thursday.SHAW: It is.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Must Mark Your Calendar; “The Daily Show” Finale Airs Thursday]
GEIST: It felt for a while like it was way off in the distance when he first announced it and now here it is.
SHAW: It's here already after 16 years. Jon Stewart is leaving. This is his final week. We know some of his guests this week will be Louis CK, Denis Leary, and Amy Schumer, who actually once met with Jon about taking over the show, ultimately decided against it.
But listen, I know you guys are like deep in REM sleep by 11:00 p.m., so don't worry about it because Comedy Central is going to air a marathon of some of Jon’s best interviews all day Thursday leading up to the one-hour series finale.
HALL: What the saddest thing about this is that the Republican first debate is Thursday night. So we don't have Jon Stewart Friday.
SHAW: I know.
GEIST: Oh, that’s right.
SHAW: I know, I know. It’s bad timing.
GEIST: Oh, he should finish Friday.
HALL: He's got to move it back one day, please.
GEIST: Wait a minute, I didn’t think about that.
HALL: I did.
SHAW: But he's like, “Vacation!”
GEIST: Wow. Jon, think about it, man.
HALL: Jon, don’t do it. One more day.
GEIST: Is there any talk, because this would be genius and I bet they're thinking about this, to bring all those great correspondents back, to have Colbert come back and Ed Helms?
SHAW: I have a feeling we will be seeing that.
GEIST: Jon Oliver.
SHAW: I mean, it is an extended show, it’s an hour – you know, nearly an hour-long show for the finale. So there are a lot of surprises in store.
GEIST: Cool.
