Trivia / The Daily Show

• Accent Depundent: The Most Immature Montage Ever revolves around the fact that in cot-caught merging American accents, the word "caulk" (as in, the stuff you use to seal up cracks in your walls) sounds exactly like the word "cock" (as in... you know). The montage probably seems doubly immature in other English-speaking countries, where "caulk" doesn't sound at all like "cock", and may, in fact, be a homophone for "cork".
• Hostility on the Set: Briefly, when Stewart first took over. Most of the writers and staff were holdovers from the Kilborn era at the time, and there was a lot of resistance to the more political humor that Stewart wanted to do. At one point, some of the writers told Stewart point-blank that he couldn't change their jokes anymore, and Stewart had to forcefully remind them that they worked for him, not the other way around. Head writer Ben Karlin claimed that he'd go into the producer's office and find juvenile insults written on the board directed to him and Stewart, among others. Stewart estimated that it took him a good year of turnover before he had a staff sympathetic to the show's new direction.
• The Pete Best: Remember when Craig Kilborn was the host? Yeah, us neither. And Comedy Central agrees, since their website doesn't feature any clips from episodes from Kilborn's era.
• Recycled Set: When Stewart made his debut, the set was exactly the same as the one Kilborn used at the end of his run as host. Averted with Trevor Noah's run, which features a new set and all new graphics and logos.
• Referenced by...: In My Dark Vanessa, Vanessa watches The Daily Show with her mom during Christmas vacation.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Amy Schumer, Amy Poehler, and Chris Rock were offered the show as replacements for Jon Stewart. They all turned it down for various reasons (Schumer didn't want to be constrained to the daily production routine, Poehler just wasn't interested, and Rock only wanted to do it until the election was over).
  • The 2023 WGA strike took place in the middle of the show having weekly guest hosts while looking for a permanent host to succeed Trevor Noah in the role. As a result, correspondent Dulcé Sloan had her first and only hosting gig on May 1, 2023. This also led to indefinitely postponing various planned guest hosts that included current correspondents Michael Kosta and Ronny Cheng, the show's long-running "Back in Black" segment host Lewis Black, former correspondent Michelle Wolf, and celebrities Charlamagne Tha God and Desus Nice.
  • Hasan Minhaj was going to be named the permanent host after Trevor Noah's departure. But after he admitted to fabricating and embellishing stories regarding alleged attacks against him and his family, the offer was withdrawn.

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