The Daily ShowThe Daily Show (TDS) is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+ of extended episodes. The Daily Show draws its comedy and satire from recent news stories as well as political figures, media organizations, and often uses self-referential humor. The half-hour-long show premiered on July 22, 1996, and was first hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 17, 1998.
Jon StewartJon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, actor, director and television host. He hosted The Daily Show, a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts The Problem with Jon Stewart (2021–present) on Apple TV+. His numerous accolades include 22 Primetime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2022. Stewart started as a stand-up comedian but branched into television as host of Short Attention Span Theater for Comedy Central.
The Colbert ReportThe Colbert Report (koʊlˈbɛər_rᵻˌpɔːr ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focused on a fictional anchorman character named Stephen Colbert, played by his real-life namesake. The character, described by Colbert as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot", is a caricature of televised political pundits.
Stephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert (koʊlˈbɛər ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program The Colbert Report from 2005 to 2014 and the CBS talk program The Late Show with Stephen Colbert since September 2015. Colbert originally studied to be a dramatic actor, but became interested in improvisational theater while attending Northwestern University, where he met Second City director Del Close.
Broadcast syndicationBroadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where broadcast programming is scheduled by television networks with local independent affiliates. Syndication is less widespread in the rest of the world, as most countries have centralized networks or television stations without local affiliates.
Johnny CarsonJohn William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known as the host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992). Carson received six Primetime Emmy Awards, the Television Academy's 1980 Governor's Award, and a 1985 Peabody Award. He was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987. Carson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1993.
Conan O'BrienConan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2009) and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010) on the NBC television network, and Conan (2010–2021) on the cable channel TBS. Before his hosting career, O'Brien was a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1991, and the Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1991 to 1993.
Jerry SeinfeldJerome Allen Seinfeld (ˈsaɪnfɛld ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for having played a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), which he created and wrote with Larry David. The show aired on NBC from 1989 until 1998, becoming one of the most acclaimed and popular sitcoms of all time. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. In 2004, Comedy Central named him the 12th-greatest stand-up comedian of all time.
Hip hop musicHip hop or hip-hop, also known as rap and formerly known as disco rap, is a genre of popular music that was originated in the Bronx borough of New York City in the early 1970s by African Americans, having existed for several years prior to mainstream discovery. Hip hop originated as an anti-drug and anti-violence genre, while consisting of stylized rhythmic music (usually built around drum beats) that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted.
Mos DefYasiin Bey (jæˈsiːn_ˈbeɪ; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), more commonly known by his former stage name Mos Def (ˌmoʊs_ˈdɛf), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the short-lived rap group Urban Thermo Dynamics (UTD), after which they appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. He formed the duo Black Star, alongside fellow Brooklyn-based rapper Talib Kweli, and in 1998 they released their debut album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, featuring the singles "Definition" and "Respiration".