Jon Stewart returned to hosting to interview Stephen Colbert

Jon Stewart was back where he belongs last night as he sat behind the desk of the Late Show to reminisce with Stephen Colbert.

Jon Stewart left The Daily Show  in 2015 but he never really went away. He has popped up on other late night shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Conan.  Most often he shows up on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he has also acted as an executive producer.

These appearances are almost always worth watching if you’re a Stewart fan and miss his brand of comedy since departing The Daily Show. Perhaps his HBO comedy specials will deliver a bigger payoff than these brief offerings on late night.

What we haven’t been able to see is Stewart being the one to drive the conversation. Rehearsed bits are designed to have the same effect as Stewart having a one-on-one conversation with someone in his unique voice. Even as an interview guest, he can be limited by what that show wants him to cover.

Thankfully Stephen Colbert has been trying some different things over at The Late Show during the Thanksgiving holiday. The show produced an animated version on the show and recently uploaded “flipped interviews” in which recurring guests were given the chance to interview Colbert. Stewart was one of these guests and their chat did not disappoint.

It’s not so much that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are some incredible comedy duo, a la Steve Martin and Martin Short or even Colbert and Steve Carell, but just the genuine friendship and shared history they have. Colbert may have said he was nervous at the start of the interview but the two clearly put each other at ease.

They referred to the only other time that Stewart had interviewed Colbert. The idea of Colbert standing in for Sharpton was a brilliant way of rolling with the punches. Colbert recently said it was his favorite thing he did with Stewart on The Daily Show. 

Stewart and Colbert’s chat was an extended one. Even so, it’s never enough to have the two of them back trying to make each other laugh while reflecting on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. You can check out the rest of the interview below:

Hopefully it isn’t too long before we see Jon Stewart back in the solo spotlight. He doesn’t seem to interested in revisiting the format of something like The Daily Show or even Colbert’s Late Show. But it’s clear that he still enjoys being in front of the camera and making an audience laugh.