“The Daily Show” Showrunner Says Writing for Late Night Has Been a ‘Coping Mechanism’ amid an Eventful 3 Decades (Exclusive)

Angela AndaloroWed, July 22, 2026 at 6:21 PM UTC

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Jennifer Flanz for ‘The Daily Show’Credit: Courtesy of The Daily Show -

Jennifer Flanz first began working at The Daily Show in 1998 as a production assistant

The Daily Show celebrates 30 years on the air on July 22, 2026

In the years since, she has risen to the level of writer and showrunner, telling PEOPLE how changing society and news culture keep her on her toes

In her time at The Daily Show, Jennifer Flanz has seen it all.

The executive producer, writer and showrunner sat down with PEOPLE to discuss 30 years of the beloved late-night series. Flanz has the rare perspective of having begun at The Daily Show as a production assistant in 1998, rising through the ranks to her position today.

“I started as a PA in January of 1998. So I remember when I took this job, I thought, ‘Well, this show could last for a few months or it could last forever.’ I came on two years into the show, so it was almost two years old when I started here. So I’ve been here for 28½ years,” she tells PEOPLE about joining the news satire, which first started airing on Comedy Central on July 22, 1996.

While it’s undoubtedly been “a journey,” Flanz says that she feels, “very, very, very lucky that I was able to start here in an entry-level position.”

“It was my dream job. I just wanted to work in television and I was always very interested in current events, politics, public policy and social issues. So this was such a great cross-section of things that I wanted to do with my life,” she shares.

Jon Stewart on ‘The Daily Show’ in the late-1990sCredit: Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News Archive via Getty

Flanz continues, “I feel very, very fortunate that I started in an entry-level position and moved up through the ranks because I do think it’s what makes me good at my job, because I’ve done so many of the jobs here. I’ve been at every level of the show and seen it through so many iterations that I think gives me a really good broad overview of how everyone is doing their jobs, people’s time constraints. It’s certainly helped me to be an empathetic boss and understand what people are going through in different moments. And it’s been such a prideful thing to see the show grow into what it’s grown into.”

The last 30 years have seen tremendous change, not just in The Daily Show and its production, but the world and how it works overall. Many who work in the business of delivering and digesting the news can find themselves bogged down by it, but Flanz says it actually helps her make sense of it all.

“The truth is, I work at The Daily Show because I like to laugh and I try to find the funny, even in the hardest topics,” she acknowledges. “And I get to come to work with people that I love that also look for funny and hard topics. And we laugh about it a lot, even when maybe it’s not the easiest thing to laugh about. And I do think that helps you handle what’s going on in the world. I think if you don’t overthink it too much and move through it, maybe every moment isn’t as bad as we think it is and things shake out.”

The cast and crew of ‘The Daily Show’ celebrate a win at the 2008 Primetime Emmy AwardsCredit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

“I think you kind of have to remove yourself from the reality of what’s happening in the world and look at it all. Listen, there are some stories that are so tragic and hard that you cannot possibly look at and say, ‘How’s the show going to cover this?’ There are some stories that you can’t use this tactic on,” Flanz continues.

“But I think that a lot of times, my coping mechanism as far as how to handle the news is that I look at it and think, ‘How are we going to handle it on the show? What’s the audience going to want to hear about this? How are we covering it?’ And I think that removes me a little bit, emotionally, and helps keep each actual news story from being such a heavy burden.”

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Flanz has watched as viewers were guided through current events, first by Craig Kilborn, who was the original host until 1999, then Jon Stewart, who had the longest reign with 16 years behind the desk, and then by Trevor Noah, who took over in 2015. Following Noah’s departure in 2023, the series had a slew of guest hosts. Today’s format sees Stewart return to the helm once a week and host alongside News Team members Ronny Chieng, Josh Johnson, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta, Desi Lydic, Troy Iwata and Grace Kuhlenschmidt.

Of the current format, Flanz shares, “I absolutely love what we’re doing now. I love that we get to rotate through some of our news team and John.”

Trevor Noah on ‘The Daily Show’Credit: Paul Zimmerman/Getty

“I mean, one, we get Jon back, which is just epic. He’s just the most fun to work with, such a mentor to me. I always say he’s the smartest person I’ve ever met. Without trying, he just remembers everything. He must have a photographic memory,” she shares. “He’s also just nice and down to earth and it’s so easy to connect with him, I find. But he was obviously my boss for 16 years, and I just learned a lot from him about how to make the show resonate with people, I think.”

“It’s great to have him back here, but it’s also really fun to see him mentor and coach the other hosts and get to share the responsibilities of the show and not just have the whole show,” she explains, noting, “When it’s one host, it’s a lot of weight to carry.”

She continues, “Our other hosts, Desi, Jordan, Michael Kosta, Ronny, and Josh all get to share that with John. And once their week comes up, they’re all so excited to do it and have all that energy. And as a writer and producer, it’s so refreshing to have different voices to write and produce for.”

Most importantly, Flanz believes it brings something elevated to viewers, noting, “I think it’s fun for our audience. I think it’s cool to see so many headlines through different people’s points. It’s all through The Daily Show point of view, but it is like Desi can tell jokes that are different from Michael’s jokes, which are different than Ronny’s or Josh’s. And who’s at the desk will depend on what jokes, one, that the host likes, and two, what the audience is willing to accept from that host. It’s been a really cool evolution of the show.”

Flanz is excited to celebrate the show’s milestone with her colleagues and see where the evolution of news, entertainment and comedy steers the ship next.

Desi Lydic, Michael Kosta, Josh Johnson, Jon Stewart, Ronny Chieng, Jordan Klepper, Grace Kuhlenschmidt, and Jen Flanz at ‘The Daily Show’ FYC Event in June 2026Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty

“I think the reason I’ve stayed here so long is that my job has changed and I’ve moved up. Every time something gets a little boring, we change hosts, hire a new correspondent, or go cover a new presidential election. It truly never gets boring because there’s always something new, evolving the show or the world, that we’re covering,” she says.

“And so I feel just incredibly lucky to have had a job this long that I love. And my proudest moments are mostly people I’ve hired either moving up the ranks here, going out in the world and starting other shows, and really cultivating the culture of our production. I think we have a nice work culture where everybody respects each other,” Flanz continues. ”We laugh a lot. That’s what I’m most proud of, in addition to putting out good content. We hold ourselves to a high standard. We have people fact-checking all the time. We make sure to get our stories right.”

The Daily Show airs weeknights at 11:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. CT on Comedy Central and is available to stream on Paramount+.

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