Two-month post while Jon Stewart directs a movie

John Oliver is to replace Jon Stewart on The Daily Show for two months.

The British comic will take over the Comedy Central slot while Stewart directs his first feature film.

Standing in on the hit show for eight weeks will further boost Oliver’s profile in the States, where he moved in 2006 to take up a job as a correspondent on the show. Since then he has hosted three series of his own stand-up show and appeared on the sitcom Community and in the Mike Myers film The Love Guru.

Stewart is taking a sabbatical to make Rosewater, a film about Canadian-Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari, who spent 118 days in jail after the Tehran regime accused him of spying.

He was arrested shortly after being interviewed by Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones in 2009. He made a televised confession, which he said was made under duress, and later wrote a book about his ordeal called Then They Came For Me.

However, Stewart’s movie is called Rosewater because a guy who interrogated Bahari smelled like rosewater.

Stewart – who has hosted the Daily Show for 15 years – has written the script and is also producing the movie.

Published: 6 Mar 2013