HBO is scrapping plans to develop a new show with Jon Stewart after 18-months of planning, saying “technical issues” are too difficult to overcome.
Jon Stewart, former host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, was creating an animated series that was originally expected to premiere in early 2016, but delays continued pushing the release. HBO announced the decision Tuesday night to ditch the effort with Stewart, throwing a wrench in his plans for a comeback to television, reports The New York Times.
HBO and Jon Stewart originally planned to create digital shorts parodying cable news networks that they hoped to air during the 2016 presidential election.
“HBO and Jon Stewart have decided not to proceed with a short form digital animated project,” HBO said in a statement to The New York Times. “We all thought the project had great potential, but there were technical issues in terms of production and distribution that proved too difficult given the quick turnaround and topical nature of the material.”
Stewart left The Daily Show in 2015 after 16 years of hosting, saying at the time that the late night schedule “clearly broke me.” Stewart signed a four year contract with HBO in November 2015 for the digital shorts. Although he felt depleted by 16 years on The Daily Show, Stewart said “I’m pretty sure I can produce a few minutes of content every now and then.”
Despite the setback in their partnership, HBO said that they will continue to explore new avenues with Stewart, but were vague on any specific plans.
“We’re excited to report that we have some future projects together, which you will be hearing about in the near future,” HBO said in the statement.
Stewart is currently credited as an executive producer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and occasionally makes appearances on the program.
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