Yesterday, Jon Stewart announced that he would be leaving The Daily Show after 16 years.
(Also, oh my God, I just realized kids born in 1999 are now 16).
After the Internet went through its customary grieving period (which is, like, approximately 30 minutes these days), citizens of the Web began their usual practice of bandying about suggestions for who might replace him.
An early frontrunner was Amy Poehler, whom, to be honest, we love the idea of having behind the Daily Show desk. Amy deftly handled Saturday Night Live's news satire segment, Weekend Update, for many years, and she's played political characters with equal parts scorn and warmth. Like Stewart before her, she mocks her country because she cares.
But by this morning, folks had moved on to a new suggestion: current Daily Show correspondent Jessica Williams.
No disrespect to Amy, but we think Jessica is an even better idea.
The Daily Show is a long-running political satire show, presented in the style of an evening news report. Comedian and writer Jon Stewart has been the show’s “anchor” since 1999, and has been behind the desk for so long that, in many peoples’ minds, he IS The Daily Show. Stewart has always had our liberal, left-leaning backs, and we’re gonna miss him. But if Jessica Williams were to replace him? Well, that might ease the pain a little bit. Here are seven reasons it’s time for Jessica to step in as The Daily Show’s anchor.
She’s A Lady—And That’s Great!
Yeah, we’ll go ahead and say it: We want her to take over because she’s a woman, and not only is it time for a woman—and a woman of color, at that—to hold such a powerful position, but we have no doubt Stewart would give her his blessing. Like we mentioned above, Jon Stewart has always attempted to provide a voice for the little guy—and that includes women and the myriad unseen challenges we face on a daily basis. Williams’ specialty thus far has been covering issues that affect women—harrassment, abortion rights, women in the military, etc. We admit, we're a little biased because she tends to cover subjects close to our hearts, but in a way that will welcome those wary of feminism. A prime example of this is "Jessica's Feminized Atmosphere," which showcases her ability to cut through misogynistic bullshit and also be disarmingly goofy.
She’s Not JUST A Lady
But don't worry, she won't go putting throw pillows and scented candles all over the set. She's more than capable of skewering other topics with incredible ease. Here she is doing a fine job of producing a fair and balanced look at Detroit’s dirty dealings during a water shortage:
(Am I crazy, or did I detect a note of pride on Stewart’s face as he threw to commercial?)
She Goes After Both Sides
It’s no secret that The Daily Show often exhibits a liberal bias, but Williams isn’t afraid to make a mockery of (or make a fool of herself in front of) left-leaning pundits, especially if she can call out some strain of government chicanery in the process. Refer back to the ‘Water Hoarding’ sketch above and see how she interacts with an activist calling for realistic pricing plans for public utilities. Then check out this segment on military hairstyle regulations for African-American enlistees:
She's Young
Girl's 25, and was hired at 22. When I was 22 I was mostly moping around my moldy apartment, unable to find a job, and watching a LOT of daytime TV. She's sharp, she's motivated, and she knows what the kids are into—and they've always been into The Daily Show.
She’s Real
As she mentioned in this Mother Jones interview, she was put at ease during her first meeting with Stewart when she heard him singing to himself on his way into the room. Follow Williams on Twitter and you’ll see that, in contrast to her hyper on-screen persona, she’s a down-to-earth, fully relatable human being who truly, honestly cares about the world around her. And also about So Weird.
Like, shouldn't we all be talking about So Weird more? FUCK that show was amazing and was never officially made available for DVD release.
— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) November 12, 2014
She's Humble
This of course is not a requirement, but Stewart’s unshakeable humility has been part of The Daily Show's magic for years: Stewart believes in the influence of the show’s work, but doesn't think he’s God's gift to subversive comedy. Even with several blogs and magazines taking note of her influence over the course of the last year or so, Jessica also remains remarkably chill.
She’ll Be Just Different Enough
Williams as anchor would change the attitude of the show somewhat—less of Jon Stewart’s biting witticisms and more of John Oliver’s bemused smirk—but as this Vulture list points out, “A post-Stewart TDS can't and shouldn't stay exactly the same.” Williams already has her finger directly over the pulse of what matters to Americans right now. She’ll just approach it in a slightly different, kinda wacky way.
And that's something we can definitely get behind.
