Joel McHale won’t take over for Jon Stewart on The Daily Show

It's terribly sad that Jon Stewart is leaving The Daily Show after all these years. And for the person that replaces him, that's going to be a daunting task. I don't envy that person. Rumor has it that Joel McHale — the host of E!'s The Soup and actor on Community — was looking for a new hosting gig, and his name has been tossed around as a possible replacement for Jon Stewart.

If you'd like McHale to host The Daily Show, you're going to be disappointed, because he's not interested… and for good reason. McHale had some interesting things to say about it to Variety:

"I don't think I'm smart enough to do the job," he told Variety. "I think I come off as being smart. But deep down I'm really not. Plus, I've just signed on for two more years at E!, and I'm having a ball on that show. And E! has been incredibly good." […]

"Jon Stewart deals with large, very important issues," he said. "We obsess about the weirdos on 'The Bachelor' who do ghost adventures and look for Bigfoot. So I think the show would not be up to the intellectual standards that everyone is looking for."

He makes a really good point; The Soup and The Daily Show are light years apart and couldn't  be more different. And I'm not sure McHale's style is even right for The Daily Show. That said, I don't think Comedy Central should get a Jon Stewart clone, because no one can live up to what Jon Stewart has done. They need to get someone with their own style… but someone that can still piss off Fox News.

McHale can be seen on Community, which has its Season 6 premiere on Yahoo March 17, 2015.

Variety