John Mulaney on Being Approached About Replacing Jon Stewart on ‘The Daily Show,’ but ‘It Wasn’t the Right Thing’
Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor John Mulaney is answering questions about being asked by Comedy Central executives if he was interested in hosting “The Daily Show” when Jon Stewart bowed out in 2015. During a recent appearance on Doug Herzog and Jen Chaney’s “Basic!” podcast, Herzog — who was president of Viacom Music and Entertainment Group, which oversaw Comedy Central, until 2017 — asked Mulaney if he recalled the conversation he had with then-president of Comedy Central, Kent Alterman, about potentially taking over. “I think we were floating your interest in that and you were very lukewarm as I remember,” Herzog said. Mulaney explained that he ultimately passed because, in part, his Fox sitcom “Mulaney” had just been canceled after only one season.