(CNN)Emerging from his TV hibernation, Jon Stewart has taken John Oliver's deep-dive format into a azygous contented and gone a measurement further successful "The Problem With Jon Stewart." If "The Daily Show" offered a satirical rotation connected the news, this Apple TV+ bid is fundamentally a advocacy-based newsmagazine, 1 wherever the drama bleeds retired incidentally much than by existent planning.
Stewart -- who has already adopted this relation with his crusade connected behalf of 9/11 archetypal responders -- has capitalized connected the state that his estimation affords him successful bid to instrumentality this leap, doing thing that's the equivalent of serving steamed vegetables to those fans who mightiness person tuned successful expecting salty snacks. He somewhat sheepishly acknowledges arsenic overmuch during segments successful which helium strategizes with his producers, immoderate of whom hail from quality backgrounds that talk to the program's hybrid nature.
Still, Stewart has ever practiced a signifier of journalism, utilizing drama arsenic the transportation system. At "The Daily Show," that meant reaching viewers who mightiness not different beryllium dense quality consumers, dressing up existent events successful a much enticing package.
By moving to the little commercially pressured realm of streaming, Stewart has dispensed with the pretense of spooning retired sweetener to assistance the messages spell down. The not-unreasonable takeaway from that is having spent clip surveying the authorities of the US and the world, the comic -- who can't assistance but gag astatine times successful asides and portion talking to guests and newsmakers -- has determined the stakes are excessively dire to walk overmuch clip clowning around.
Scheduled connected an every-other-week ground with a related podcast, Stewart opens with a taxable adjacent and beloved to his heart, focusing connected veterans whose health claims associated with "burn pits" person fallen connected deaf ears with the US government.
"We enactment our troops, unless they really request support," Stewart says, proceeding to interrogation suffering subject unit on with their household members, followed by a precise pointed sit-down with existent US Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough.
A 2nd occurrence really achieves a amended equilibrium of what "The Problem" hopes to become, examining the astir disingenuous cries of "Freedom!" successful effect to vaccine and disguise mandates, earlier shifting to the drift toward authoritarianism successful the US. Stewart interviews those who person witnessed the process firsthand successful Venezuela, the Philippines and the Middle East, including writer Maria Ressa and Bassem Youssef, who was erstwhile dubbed the "Egyptian Jon Stewart."
Stewart has ever exhibited first-rate interviewing chops, and with episodes moving astir 45 minutes, helium has ample clip to show them. This amusement follows a never-realized program for a bid astatine HBO, whose erstwhile main Richard Plepler helped bring the task to Apple, which intelligibly gave the comic each the originative latitude helium could person wanted. (CNN and HBO are some portion of WarnerMedia.)
The astir evident occupation with "The Problem" is its accent connected righting and exposing wrongs comes astatine the disbursal of being entertaining, astatine slightest successful the mode radical person travel to expect. The wide effect brings to caput the historical absorption erstwhile a comedic histrion segues into melodramatic roles, and the pushback from parts of the assemblage figures to beryllium similar.
Stewart has anticipated that imaginable disapproval and seems contented to plead blameworthy to it. Having spent years eliciting laughs, successful "The Problem" Stewart has antithetic priorities, embarking, nevertheless lofty it mightiness sound, connected a hunt for solutions.
"The Problem With Jon Stewart" premieres Sept. 30 connected Apple TV+.
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