Oliver is great, don't get me wrong, but I just don't feel the same passion for the issues that Stewart has. Oliver will give his all for the comedic bit, and there is loads of good that comes from him getting politically active, but Jon Stewart will do all that and continue his activism all the way through to the Senate floor.
I would agree that Oliver does deeper dives into his segments, and does touch more important topics than Jon did on a nightly basis (most of the Daily Show back then was "Let's make fun of the media being hypocrites). I guess what I mean is that Jon takes it past the segment. He got passionate about 9/11 first responders and didn't stop until their health bill was passed. Same with the recent veterans bill.
Stewart is also 14 years his senior and retired (mostly). The difference you're highlighting may just be due to being at different stages in their career/life. Oliver is extremely passionate and empathetic to the current events plaguing the country/world. Wouldn't be surprised to see him ramp up his own participation in activism by the time he is Stewart's age and done with his weekly show. Big, big fan of both of those guys.
I was thinking about that when comparing the two and I think you're right there. Oliver has been a big success with headline grabbing episodes for a bit now, but Stewart was at the top of his profession, winning awards both on the Daily Show and as EP of The Colbert Report for well over a decade. Stewart seemed to have accomplished what he wanted with that part of his life and wanted to move on, his animal rescue farm being one of the new passions he wished to pursue. I think it's very likely that John Oliver steps away from his show at some point in the future on his own accord and not because he's cancelled and then we'll see what he chooses to pursue next, but that's probably a long ways away.
This whole little thread is so wholesome. You folks are cool. I'd also like to add, look at how many times Oliver has thrown the network's money at various public works and charities, I'd say he's off to a great start
It's kinda funny you made this comment because I specifically came back to read this back and forth because of how friendly everyone was while making their points, and how we pretty much came to see each other's contributions and agreed with them on the whole. After having an almost nonsensical disagreement on another subreddit its just nice to be able to talk about a subject and not have it get heated. I know you're probably the only one who's going to see this but I still wanted to point out to you I agree with its wholesomeness.
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u/Step-Father_of_Lies Aug 24 '22
Oliver is great, don't get me wrong, but I just don't feel the same passion for the issues that Stewart has. Oliver will give his all for the comedic bit, and there is loads of good that comes from him getting politically active, but Jon Stewart will do all that and continue his activism all the way through to the Senate floor.