Jon Stewart on the Jon Stewart problem. Source: Apple TV+
3 Facebook x.com Reddit
Last updated 1 hour ago
Comedian Jon Stewart says tech giants like Apple and Amazon have caused an “earthquake” in the way on-demand streaming shows like those on Apple TV+ are made.
Stewart, who returned to “The Daily Show” as one of the rotating hosts, spoke with fellow comedian Conan O'Brien on the latter's podcast about how making TV shows has changed. He pointed to Apple and Amazon as tech companies that are now producing TV shows and movies.
He lamented the way tech giants have brought ruthless efficiency to TV production. Stewart compared the shift in styles to the shakeup that happens when powerful tech executives take over smaller companies.
Subscribe to AppleInsider on YouTubeSubscribe to AppleInsider on YouTube
“Silicon Valley has gone like Elon Musk went on Twitter and said, 'How many people work here? 10,000? Make it two,'” Stewart said.
A year ago, Stewart saw his own Apple TV+ talk show, The Problem with Jon Stewart, canceled over what he called “different agendas.”
The Death of the Writers' Room
Stewart has specifically focused on cutting back on the traditional “writers' room,” where storylines were traditionally discussed in a group. He acknowledged that this “traditional business” model for written shows was “the most inefficient way” to make programming.
“The idea of traditional entertainment is that we've created this incredibly eccentric business where you need an agent, a manager, and a lawyer, and they'll take about 60 percent of what you make, but without them, you can't do anything,” Stewart noted. “And you join a studio, and the studio will make you a deal, and you'll sit in your room.”
The Apple and other tech companies' style of creating their own products, services, and entertainment depends on far fewer people. Tech executives, in particular, only promote those who can meet tight deadlines and still reliably produce quality work.
“I can’t work like this,” Stewart admitted. O’Brien agreed, noting that it’s made it much harder for his comedian friends to find work.
Stewart previously said that Apple blocked him from inviting Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan onto his podcast spinoff “The Problem,” sparking a conflict that ultimately led to the end of his Apple TV+ show.
Streaming TV Productions: Bigger Budgets But Tighter Control
“It’s a rift, an earthquake that’s been going through this whole time,” he said. “So now Apple and Amazon, they come in and say, ‘Writers’ room? Wait, you have 14 writers and they’re with you from start to finish?’”
“Well,” Steward said in response to a hypothetical summary of Apple and Amazon’s concerns, “it’s important to have the writers involved, and also we show them how they are on the page, because that’s different than the page on the screen. They have to understand how that works and understand how we interact with the props.”
“And they’re like, ‘They might have three weeks, and it has to be on Zoom. And you might have four of them,’” Steward said. O’Brien agreed, saying the way television is produced is “radically changing.”
“These companies don’t believe in the institutional knowledge that allows people to grow and get better and create more,” Steward said. “What they believe in now is the writer system that’s always kind of existed in film and television… and this idea of ruthlessly efficient content factories where real estate is what matters, not individual creativity,” he added.
The interview with Stewart appeared on the September 27, 2024, episode of the Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcast. The episode is available on YouTube and should be coming soon to both Apple Podcasts and Spotify Podcasts.
Follow AppleInsider on Google News
