HBO and Jon Stewart have mutually decided to cancel the proposed and much-anticipated ‘animated shorts’ project that had been announced more than a year-and-a-half ago because of technical problems, it has been announced.
The project, first revealed way back in November 2015 shortly after Stewart had signed off from Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show’ after presenting it for 16 years, had been vaunted as the next step in Stewart’s career after his late night hosting duties.
“HBO and Jon Stewart have decided not to proceed with a short-form digital animated project,” the network said Wednesday (May 24th), according to the New York Times.
Jon Stewart at the 2015 Emmys
“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.”
However, fans of the satirical comedian will be pleased to know that there are “future projects” planned by HBO and Stewart, “which you will be hearing about in the near future”.
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HBO said back in 2015 that their newly-inked partnership would launch with an animated parody of a cable news network, one which would allow Stewart to comment on daily breaking news in real time, using pioneering digital technology.
It had been hoped that it would be up and running in time for Stewart to provide running commentary on the 2016 presidential election, especially his evergreen comedy target Donald Trump, but it was delayed and HBO last updated fans by saying that it premiere before the end of 2016.
Since he quit ‘The Daily Show’, Stewart has kept something of a low profile, making occasional guest appearances on his fellow comedian Stephen Colbert’s show on CBS.
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