[Update: Well, that lasted all of two weeks. After a rousing re-debut, when it seemed like the voice of reason from the early 2000s was back when the country most needed him, over his subsequent two outings Jon Stewart reverted to his least engaging and appealing form, that of a smug pseudo-intellectual toadying for Establishment approval. For some reason, last week he decided to give Tucker Carlson a platform (my man, let it go!). Pro tip: If you have to resort to ridiculing Tucker Carlson, who is a walking self-parody as it is, you’re not trying very hard. Last night his monologue managed to simultaneously denigrate Israel while making jokes about October 7 and the aftermath. Ah, so. It was a good 18 minutes while it lasted. I would de-publish this post, but, you know, algorithms and sich.]

I confess, I was hesitant. Hesitant, if not downright skeptical. A few weeks ago, when Comedy Central announced Jon Stewart was returning to The Daily Show, which he turned into a cultural juggernaut in the early 2000s, I immediately flashed to any number of abortive comebacks over the years. I thought of all the Hollywood movie reboots that served only to remind us that entertainment magic cannot be summoned at will, much less from corporate boardrooms obsessed with “pre-awareness.”

I was hesitant because Stewart’s efforts since departing The Daily Show in 2015 have been, shall we say, uneven. His Apple Podcast, “The Problem With Jon Stewart,” never found footing and was canceled abruptly when Stewart still had 18 months left on his contract. In 2020 he produced a movie starring Steve Carrell called Irresistible that proved to be the opposite for audiences. I was hesitant because he’s now in his 60s, an age when most actors and comedians are segueing into the “Grand Old Man/Grand Dame” phase of their careers. In any case he seemed to have lost a step or three. I was worried most of all because for a while Stewart seemed to have gone woke, and woke is where comedy (and perspective) go to die.

I am pleased to report my concerns were unfounded. Jon Stewart is back, and if last night’s “re-debut” is any indication, he is better than ever. A little older, a little wiser, a little more politically centrist (though make no mistake, he remains an old school liberal).

Then again, throughout his time in the wilderness there were hints that the old Stewart, he of the wry, “can you believe these people” half-grin, the mainstream A-lister who somehow managed to sustain iconoclast legitimacy, was alive and well just beneath the surface. In March 2021 he shocked his old sidekick Stephen Colbert – who has been thoroughly defanged and domesticated by his own gig as host of Late Night – by supporting the lab leak theory of the COVID-19 virus (‘Oh my God, there’s been an outbreak of chocolatey goodness near Hershey, Pennsylvania. What do you think happened? Like, ‘Oh, I don’t know, maybe a steam shovel mated with a cocoa bean?’ Or it’s the f—ing chocolate factory!”)

He made that joke at the height of lockdowns and general hysteria, and for a while it cost him. The predictable results were a slew of op-eds by pearl-clutching media types gasping that their beloved icon had consumed an entire pitcher of alt-right Kool-Aid. The entertainment world and media complex seemed poised to cancel Jon Freaking Stewart.

Except, you know, he may well have been right.

I know next to nothing about Stewart as a man. I once shook his hand and said hello as he signed my copy of “America (The Book.)” That’s it. Nevertheless, I have the sense that that moment on Colbert’s show, when he said aloud what tens of millions of Americans were thinking, was the turning point. When he later discussed it you could see the perplexity on his face, the idea that the U.S. establishment was so eager to insulate the Chinese government from even the most basic common sense questioning. It was as if U.S. media and entertainment were carrying the CCP’s water, within our own borders. I believe that when all is said and done, Stewart is a patriot, and I think the experience rattled him to his core.

It would certainly help explain why he came out blazing with both barrels last night. He kicked off the show the right way: One of the very few annoying things about the old Daily Show was the inevitable, extended sequence of roaring audience applause and whooping and hollering that started each show. I girded myself for an even more extended version as the audience welcomed him back after nine years.

But Stewart was too eager to get to business to waste much time on ego stroking. Yes, there was the typical chorus of audience ululations that one typically associates with Beatles appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, but he shushed in down in less than 30 seconds. He could have basked, he could have let the howls vindicate him after his time in the wilderness. Fortunately for the audience, and maybe for the United States, he quickly got on with the show.

And aside from the gray hair and beard and a couple of crow’s feet around his eyes, it was as if he never left. The wry look was back, and if anything his “can you believe these people” face has gotten better with age. Most importantly, there was the good humor. Jon Stewart was always a happy warrior. He never seemed like he was out to score points, and he never fell into the Pit of Endless Cynicism that consumes so much modern entertainment and media and so many who work in it. He was self-effacing, serious but not, and he hit the perfect balance of indignation, outrage, and bafflement. You could disagree with him, but you’d still find yourself chuckling. That’s the Jon Stewart who showed up in top form last night.

His opening line was pitch perfect: “Now, where was I?”

When he said, “It’s good to be back. It’s good to see you guys!” it was as genuine a moment as I’ve seen on television in a dog’s age. In those first few words Stewart assuaged every concern about this particular comeback. He wasn’t a rehash or a reboot. He was an old friend, paying a visit after an extended absence. The stage and set were new but recognizable. And while Stewart did play a few of his greatest hits he didn’t stand on nostalgia.

He teased a series of tag lines for The Daily Show’s 2024 presidential election coverage (my favorite was “Indecision 2024: Electile Dysfunction.”) He addressed last week’s Special Council report that characterized President Joe Biden as an “elderly old man with a poor memory.” He juxtaposed Biden looking confused with clips of Donald Trump’s deposition in which he repeatedly claimed he couldn’t remember details.

One of his best quips was in response to Biden confusing Mexico and Gaza: “Now, geography buffs may have noticed [beat for timing] Gaza and Mexico do not share a border.”

He even deployed his patented Jerry Lewis impression in response to an unhinged Donald Trump comment regarding Pennsylvania. And it landed!

The best part of the opening segment was when Stewart went full-bore into both Biden and Trump regarding their age. He was at his hilarious, happy warrior best when he bellowed, “That’s not being ‘ageist,’ that’s being human lifespan-ist …. One thing we know is this: We have two candidates who are chronologically outside the norm of anyone who has run for the presidency in the history of this country. They are the oldest people ever to run for president, breaking by only four years the record that they set, the last time they ran!“

He then compared his own aging visage to the two candidates, beckoning the camera to zero in and quipping, “Give the kids a look at the lunar surface. And I’m like 20 years younger than these motherf*****s.” He pointed at his own face and said, “Look at this. They wish!”

It was the wrap, though. He absolutely nailed the damn landing. Nine years, and he hasn’t lost so much as a fraction of comedic timing. He also hasn’t lost the ability to provoke real, actual thought. He concluded his monologue by telling the audience “the next nine months are going to suck.” It’s going to seem like November 6, 2024 is the only day that matters.

Then he got serious: “I’ve learned one thing these last nine years. And I was glib at best, dismissive at worst about this. The working of making this world resemble one you would prefer to live in is a lunch pail job, day in, day out, where thousands of committed, anonymous, smart, and dedicated people bang on closed doors and pick up those who have fallen and grind away on issues until they get a positive result, and even then have to stay on to make sure that result holds. So the good news is, I’m not saying you don’t have to worry about who wins the election, I’m saying you have to worry about every day before it, and every day after … forever.”

And finally, the zinger, “Although, on the plus side, I am told that at some point the sun will run out of hydrogen.”

He had his choice of guests — it’s a safe bet that pretty much anyone in Hollywood, DC, or in the media would have leapt at the chance to be his first guest on the new Daily Show. Instead, he invited Zanny Minton Beddoes, whom I’m guessing you have never heard of. Neither had I. She’s the Editor in Chief of The Economist magazine, as serious and sober-minded a guest as he could have found. In that 10-minute segment Stewart and Beddoes provided more food for thought than you will find in 24 hours on the average cable news show. It was bipartisan, it was engaging, and it was funny. Nine more months of this and America may even stand a chance.

So welcome back, Jon Stewart. You couldn’t have knocked on our door to say hello at a better time.