John Oliver returns to host ‘The Daily Show’ for just one night

Jon Stewart is in full-on promotion mode for his directorial debut “Rosewater.” And “The Daily Show,” his regular gig, is not exempt. In fact, promoting “Rosewater” on “The Daily Show” makes perfect sense, since the Comedy Central show plays a central role in the incarceration of Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari.

The guest lineup for Thursday’s show included Bahari, “Rosewater” star Gael Garcia Bernal, and “Daily Show” employees Jason Jones and Tim Greenberg. It was exceedingly awkward for Stewart, who was their director, to interview them about his own movie. So Stewart called in support in the form of returning all-star guest host John Oliver.

Oliver famously used his fill-in gig hosting on “The Daily Show” while Stewart was directing “Rosewater” to get his own HBO comedy news show, “Last Week Tonight.” The first season of Oliver’s show recently ended to rave reviews and strong ratings. He’ll be back in February for a second season.

But in the meantime, Oliver was available to pinch-hit as host. By the way, know how to summon Oliver? Apparently, he comes when you rub the face of Queen Elizabeth II on the side of a teapot. Just like a British genie.

Whether it was a “Darjeeling summons” or a “teapot groping abomination,” Oliver showed up when Stewart called him. But things were a bit different this time. The last time these two were on this set together, Oliver was the employee and Stewart was the boss. This time? Oliver could say whatever he wanted.

“Can you do the show?” Stewart asked.

“I think we’ve already seen I can do that,” Oliver replied.

So just like that, Oliver agreed to “take one more spin in the non-premium cable host chair.”

With a talent like Oliver twiddling his thumbs in NYC until early next year, perhaps some other New York-based hosts could tap him for a night off. Fallon? Letterman? Want an extra day of vacation?

You can watch Oliver’s entrance here.

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