John Mulaney Revealed He Turned Down Hosting ‘The Daily Show’
John Mulaney is opening up about the reasons he said no to taking over hosting duties on The Daily Show.
The 40-year-old comedian was a guest on the Basic! podcast, where he shared how he was approached for the gig before Trevor Noah was hired for the spot, and why he passed on it.
Keep reading to find out more…
John recalled that it was right around the SNL 40th Anniversary when everything occurred.
“I had a sitcom on Fox. They’d aired all 13 [episodes], but it was canceled,” he shared. “It didn’t do good numbers, but at least critics reviled it. So, it was a fun time.”
Following the end of Mulaney, John explains that he was approached by Kent Alterman, who was the then-president of Comedy Central, who asked him if he was interested in the show, and taking over the hosting desk vacated by Jon Stewart.
“I was extremely flattered that y’all were asking me about it. I sensed they would be big shoes to fill,” he recalled, before adding that he “was gun-shy from putting myself out there at that moment after the Fox run. And I sensed all eyes would be on whoever came after Mr. Stewart.”
While John admitted it was a tempting offer, he ultimately decided against it.
“It wasn’t the right thing at that moment, but I remember saying to Kent, ‘I wish it was five years from now.’ And he went, ‘Yeah, but it’s not.’ I mean, I just remember Kent had a great tone of, ‘I hear you. I’m here to hear out anything you have to say, but it’s now, and we’re asking you about it, and we can’t talk hypothetically for that long at this dinner, John,’” he said.
Trevor just recently stepped away from the desk in late 2022, and a slew of guest hosts have taken over since.
Just recently, there’s been talk about two frontrunners to take over the show. Find out who they are.
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