Jon Stewart gets top honors as a comedian with Mark Twain Prize for humor

Jon Stewart wins Mark Twain Prize for humor

Jon Stewart is well known for his political satire and achievements on "The Daily Show." He received the Mark Twain Prize, one of comedy's top honors, because of his long career of satirical political comedy and activism for veterans and 9/11 emergency workers.

According to The New York Times, Jon Stewart is the first to receive the award since Dave Chappelle in 2019. The awards had been delayed for the previous two years due to the pandemic.

The award ceremony had many of Stewart's peers appear on stage or video call to congratulate him or offer a light roast. His impact on comedy and political satire can be felt even today through many shows that mimic "The Daily Show" format like "Last Week Tonight" or "The Colbert Report."

Jon Stewart's career spans multiple decades as he took over "The Daily Show" in 1999 and held the spot until 2015. He continued his work as an activist in the background for years but ultimately returned to the small screen for a topical news series on Apple TV+, called "The Problem With Jon Stewart."

Rather than focus on daily news or recent reports, "The Problem With Jon Stewart" tackles one major topic every episode with interviews and panels discussing the topic. His debut episode, "The Problem With War," was a continuation of Stewart's fight for veterans to get the care they deserve.

The new show is seemingly off to a rough start, with some pundits pointing to Stewart's previous success at "The Daily Show" for reference to the new show's failures. However, Stewart remains excited for the Apple TV+ show as he has said Apple not only renewed it for season two, but upped the overall episode order.

Apple doesn't share information like subscriber numbers, or episode view counts, but a report after the first episode of "The Problem With Jon Stewart" suggested it outperformed Apple's other unscripted show, "The Oprah Conversation." Given this report and the season two renewal, it seems performant enough for Apple.

"Comedy doesn't change the world, but it's a bellwether," Mr. Stewart said. "We're the banana peel in the coal mine."

Subscribers can watch every episode of the first season of "The Problem With Jon Stewart" on Apple TV+. There is also a companion podcast that takes a deeper dive into the show's topics available on all of the popular podcasting platforms.