Jon Stewart Taking 'Daily' Hiatus to Direct Movie
The Daily Show's Jon Stewart is taking a break from his news satire show to produce and direct his first feature film.
Comedy Central announced Tuesday that the 50-year-old host will begin his eight-week hiatus this summer and return to the show after Labor Day, September 2.
Taking over his anchor chair will be Daily Show correspondent/writer John Oliver, who has been a regular on the show since 2006.
Stewart also wrote the film, titled Rosewater, which is based on a book by Iranian journalist/human rights activist Maziar Bahari, who was falsely accused of being a spy and imprisoned by the Iranian government in 2009 while covering that country's presidential election. Before he was jailed, Bahari was interviewed in Iran by Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones.