Daily Show alum Jason Jones’ The Detour renewed by TBS
By Hector Cruz
Former The Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones’ TBS show The Detour renewed ahead of premiere
TBS has renewed Jason Jones’ new comedy The Detour for a second season ahead of its premiere next Monday. According to Variety, Season 2 will consist of 13 episodes, three more than the 10-episode order for the first season.
The series is created, written and executive produced by Jones and his wife Samantha Bee, a fellow Daily Show alum. Both Canadian natives announced their departure from the Comedy Central late-night series last year before Jon Stewart’s exit to head projects on TBS.
The Detour follows the Parker family and their ongoing dysfunctions during a road trip from upstate New York to Florida. Natalie Zea (Justified) plays Jones’ wife on the show, while Ashley Gerasimovich and Liam Carroll play the couple’s children. Jones had this to say about the early renewal:
"“I’m very excited to be going back to making my favorite show not yet on TV and look forward to making outrageous demands in my rider for the second season.”"
Brett Weitz, executive VP of original programming for TBS, added:
"“Jason and Sam’s vision and execution of the first season was original and unexpected at every ridiculous turn. Having Jason as executive producer, director and star really brought a definition to the voice of the characters and a realism to this family.”"
The Detour‘s series premiere (seen below) aired following the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament on TBS, with the special preview drawing 1.5 million viewers and a 0.6 adults 18-49 rating. It has since been made available via multiple platforms, including the show’s official Facebook page, TBS’ YouTube channel, the network’s website TBS.com, TBS On Demand and the Watch TBS app. It has so far received solid reviews, with the San Francisco Chronicle’s David Wiegand noting that “the writing and performances combine to make The Detour worth the trip.”
The network’s comedy line-up also includes Angie Tribeca, which stars Rashida Jones, and is created by two other married Daily Show alums, Steve Carell and Nancy Walls Carell. The renewal comes just days after Bee’s well-reviewed late-night show Full Frontal was picked up through 2016. TBS ordered an additional 26 episodes to go along with its original 13-episode order.
They join other recent The Daily Show correspondents who have gone on to get their own TV shows, including John Oliver and Larry Wilmore, who host HBO’s Last Week Tonight and The Nightly Show on Comedy Central, respectively. Current members of the “Best F#@king News Team Ever” Jessica Williams and Jordan Klepper also currently have projects in the works at Comedy Central, Splitsider reports.
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Jones, 42, first joined The Daily Show in 2005 as a contributor, and was soon promoted to a full-time correspondent. He stayed with the show for 10 years – even filling in for Stewart on a 2014 episode – before leaving the series in March 2015. Given his time on the show, he seemed like a natural successor to Stewart – especially after Oliver’s departure – but it’s great to see Jones and Bee find success on another network.
The Detour officially premieres with two back-to-back episodes Monday, April 11 at 9 p.m, while Full Frontal with Samantha Bee returns with new episodes this Monday at 10:30 p.m. on TBS.