Jon Stewart to Return as Host of The Daily Show Ahead of 2024 Election: 'Excited for the Future'

Almost a decade after he exited The Daily Show, Jon Stewart is getting back behind the desk.

Stewart, 55, who hosted the Comedy Central hit from 1999 to 2015, will both anchor and executive produce the show on Monday nights starting on Feb. 12, PEOPLE can confirm.

His slate as host will last through the upcoming 2024 presidential election in November, and he'll continue to oversee the show through 2025.

In a statement, Chris McCarthy, President/CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, called the host “the voice of our generation” after the news was announced. 

“We are honored to have him return to Comedy Central’s The Daily Show to help us all make sense of the insanity and division roiling the country as we enter the election season,” the statement continued. “In our age of staggering hypocrisy and performative politics, Jon is the perfect person to puncture the empty rhetoric and provide much-needed clarity with his brilliant wit.”

Stewart responded to the news in a post on X (formerly Twitter) as he joked he “decided to enter the transfer portal” after “much reflection.” 

"Excited for the future!” he added.

News of the comedian's return to the gig that launched his career comes after his Apple TV+ series, The Problem with Jon Stewart, was canceled after two seasons last year.

Described as a "deep-dive on the most important topics that are currently part of the national conversation," the series saw Stewart tackle issues like gun control and climate change in his first return to television since his departure from The Daily Show.

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The return also comes just over a year after Trevor Noah, Stewart's successor, departed the hosting gig in December 2022. "It's been one of my greatest challenges. It's been one of my greatest joys," he said in a clip as he announced his exit. "I've loved trying to figure out how to make people laugh even when the stories are particularly s----- on the worst days. We've laughed together, we've cried together. But after seven years, I feel like it's time."

Since then, the show has seen a rotating series of guest hosts and has yet to cement its new leader.