Jon Stewart and the esteemed team of "The Daily Show" have opted to remain close to their heartland during the upcoming Republican National Convention. After initially intending to satirize the event from its host city, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Comedy Central stalwart abruptly shifted gears on Sunday, announcing that the show would instead broadcast from its cozy New York City studio. Monday's installment, traditionally helmed by Stewart, will be off the air, with the late-night series resuming its schedule from Tuesday through Thursday.
The recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Saturday appears to have been the catalyst for this shift. A message posted via Instagram and X expressed "apologies for the inconvenience," citing "logistical complexities and the ever-changing scenario in Milwaukee" as the reason for "rescheduling our on-ground events in Wisconsin." A representative of the program refrained from elaborating on the statement.
Initially, the show had envisioned a series of tapings at the Marcus Performing Arts Center, culminating in a live broadcast on Thursday, the concluding night of the convention. According to 1iota, a web-based ticketing service frequented by numerous late-night TV programs to engage live audiences, all seats for the show's four planned RNC tapings were sold out.
This sudden pivot by "The Daily Show" might potentially prompt other late-night programs to fine-tune their approach this week. CBS' "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" intends to broadcast live from New York on Thursday, while Fox News Channel had planned a week of live Milwaukee broadcasts for their satirical roundtable program "Gutfeld" each evening during the RNC. "The Late Show" also had aspirations of broadcasting live from Chicago, the venue for the Democratic National Convention, later in the summer. Similarly, "The Daily Show" also intends to visit Chicago for tapings during that event.
