The Problem With Jon Stewart

Part news show, part comedy, part soap box, "Problem" is familiar but distinct, and a natural outlet for this version of Stewart.

The [first] episode is at its best when it’s most straightforwardly serious. The second 44-minute episode, “Freedom,” feels more like a “Daily Show” outing, with Stewart in sarcastically irreverent mode on the topic of COVID-19, anti-maskers and anti-vaxxer

He still effuses charisma out of his pores, still reels viewers in with the lone hook of a skeptical eyebrow. He’s still brutally sarcastic. ... But the tone has changed. A panel discussion in the first episode, among veterans who say their lives and lungs have been scarred by burn pits, is urgent in a way that feels more suited to the nightly news than to comedy TV. ... The second episode, “Freedom,” is more emblematic of what the series could be. It’s a withering take on the American right’s response to the coronavirus pandemic that counters shouty talking points with acute logic.

We felt a whole lot better about The Problem With Jon Stewart after watching the second episode. What we saw was a show feeling its way, but with the steady hand of Stewart at the helm, even the bumpier, less funny episodes will be informative about issues that are pretty damned serious.

Nobody does it like Jon. That’s the takeaway from The Problem With Jon Stewart. ... This Stewart is more earnest than the shrugging news anchor helming the steep decline of America. It’ll take time for the show to resolve into what it can do best, but in the meantime, it is nice to have him back around.

If "The Daily Show" offered a satirical spin on the news, this Apple TV+ series is essentially a advocacy-based newsmagazine, one where the comedy bleeds out incidentally more than by actual planning.

The two episodes made available to reviewers are fascinatingly unpolished. ... The [War] episode suffers a little bit from his overfamiliarity. The veterans and spouses he interviews speak well, but some are naturally nervous, and Stewart doesn’t direct the conversation as much as he could.

"The Problem with Jon Stewart" has, shall we say, issues to overcome. Topmost is the host's refusal to let go of the "Daily Show" format he may not have originated, but definitively and successfully innovated. ... With a few tweaks, what ails "The Problem" can quickly be cured. The first is probably the most extreme suggestion: dump the guy-behind-a-desk schtick. ... "The Problem with Jon Stewart" is a work in progress, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Initially uneven but potential-packed. ... More episodes like “War” and fewer like “Freedom” would be a good start.

In its initial outing, not a whole lot of “The Problem” feels particularly surprising or brand new. Its most immediately compelling aspect, then, is the restless undercurrent thrumming throughout. ... Its best moments come from pushing past its first “what the fuck?!” instinct to the bigger, thornier question of, “what now?”

As a programme it is righteously furious about a worthy subject and, as a result, just a little dull. The second episode, Freedom, finds its groove and works much better.

The new show wants its stories and subjects in the spotlight more than anything. But until the series figures out how to distinguish itself beyond the rest of TV in order to better serve those “problems,” it won’t achieve the impact it desires — or anything close to what Stewart found before.

The media critic of yore emerges intermittently, though Stewart seems content to have ceded the satirist stage to his former colleagues Trevor Noah, Samantha Bee, and John Oliver. ... The opportunity to nail an equivocating government agent both invigorates the host and gives the show a fleeting sense of rhetorical purpose. The second episode, “Freedom,” has a hazier topical focus but higher entertainment value.

There are filmed bits of varying effectiveness. ... As panel discussions go, these are a lot more productive than a Bill Maher roundtable or the dueling banjos of cable news. If they are earnest, even a little sentimental at times, that only helps to put the seal on their sincerity. ... “The Problem With Jon Stewart” does feel a little new-colt wobbly, and the host spends some time searching for his old rhythm.

Now that his many disciples are doing their own versions of that trick across network, cable and streaming TV, the bar has been raised and you can feel Stewart straining to reach over it in these first couple of episodes.

In both episodes, the comedy seems to be working on a parallel track to the journalism rather than building with it to a climax, as on Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight.” But the satire in the second episode hits harder. ... For now — and talk shows need a long breaking-in period — maybe the best thing Stewart and “The Problem” can do is refine an entertainment sharp enough to draw the attention that he wants to redirect.

Jon Stewart’s voice may not necessarily be essential to today’s TV landscape, but these episodes, hit-and-miss though they are, show how he might absolutely have value to add.

Dull and talky, with flashes of promise.

With its more serious tone and long-planned, single-topic focus, The Problem feels like Stewart’s attempt to evolve what he used to do for a new era. He just hasn’t figured out how to do it yet, and may be too entrenched in his old approach to succeed for anyone beyond the most die-hard Daily Show With Jon Stewart fans.

“The Problem With Jon Stewart” is closer to a book. Sound snoozy? You got the right idea. ... I didn’t laugh once during the two 45-minute episodes screened for review. ... After being such a longtime fan, I’m just thankful to Stewart that we’ve got so many other alternatives to him now.