November 16, 2007
The first and most apparent casualty of the WGA writers' strike was the immediate absence of all late night television. The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Nite with Conan O'Brien and even Last Call with Carson Daly all shut down production once the strike began. However, the word is that most, if not all, of these shows are in back channel discussions with their networks to return to air sooner rather than later. The reason for this is that hundreds of lower-level production staff depend upon their jobs on these shows for a career. Also, while writers are an integral part of these shows, they aren't completely necessary.
November 14, 2007
Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, is heading to the University of Delaware early next month for a special performance at the school's Bob Carpenter Center.
Stewart, who also works as a co-writer and producer on The Daily Show, is a Peabody, Grammy and Emmy Award-winning television personality. Among his numerous achievements is hosting the prestigious Academy Awards. In 2008, he is slated to serve as the awards ceremony's host once again.
November 9, 2007
Comedy Central's The Daily Show is among those scripted shows suffering from the writers' strike. Early Monday, the series' writing staff took to the picket lines in front of Rockefeller Center, and while all of them are dedicated to the cause of the strike, correspondent and writer John Oliver admitted he was hoping things would have turned out differently.
"It's hard to believe, because part of you wants this not to be happening," he told the Los Angeles Times on Monday, gesturing to his co-writers marching behind the barricades. "You just assume common sense will prevail."
October 30, 2007
Undeniably, Comedy Central's The Daily Show has opened doors for many of its cast members. Steve Carell and Ed Helms, both of whom gained fame for their work on the satirical television series, are now costarring on NBC's The Office. Rob Corddry is busy with his growing film career and Stephen Colbert is now the host of his own late night talk show, The Colbert Report, a spin-off series that satirizes personality-driven political pundit programs.
Now, another Daily Show cast member is getting ready to branch out of the series in the hopes of making his own mark on the television world.
October 19, 2007
Jon Stewart, the acclaimed host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, has extended his contract and will remain on The Daily Show through at least 2010. The terms of the deal with Viacom (which owns Comedy Central) have not been disclosed. Stewart joined The Daily Show in 1999, replacing Craig Kilborn behind the desk. Since Stewart, 44, became host, The Daily Show has transformed into a prime location on TV for political and cultural satire. Although the ratings for The Daily Show have never been overly gaudy, the audience skews very young and the show has become a source for world news among the younger set.
April 18, 2007
Aasif Mandvi got his start in theater, but quickly worked his way into film and television, and now has a long and prolific filmography. Aasif has been appearing on The Daily Show for a couple of years now, and has recently been hired full-time on the Comedy Central "fake news" show. Aasif has also appeared on the CBS drama Jericho this year, and has worked on various TV dramas in the past (ER, Oz, CSI). Aasif was kind enough to stop by and talk with us at BuddyTV about his early career and how he found himself working on one of cable's most popular shows.
Below you will find both the written transcript and the full mp3 audio of the interview.