Big Tech is disrupting TV production, complains Jon Stewart

Stewart, who has returned to “The Daily Show” as one of a rotating cast of hosts, spoke with fellow comedian Conan O'Brien on his podcast about how TV show production has changed. He specifically pointed to Apple and Amazon as technology companies that now produce television shows and films.

He lamented how technology giants had brought ruthless efficiency to television production. Stewart likened the change in style to the upheaval that occurs when powerful tech executives take over smaller companies.

“Silicon Valley came in, like Elon Musk came on Twitter and asked, 'How many people work here? 10,000? Let’s do two,” Stewart said.

Stewart saw his own Apple TV+ discussion show, “The Problem With Jon Stewart,” canceled a year ago over what he described as “differing agendas.”

Stewart particularly focused on reducing the traditional “writer's room,” where storylines were traditionally hatched in a group setting. He admitted that this “old business model” for scripted shows was “the most inefficient way” to create programs.

“The ethos of Legacy Entertainment is that we've created this incredibly eccentric business where you need an agent, a manager and a lawyer, and they take about 60 percent of what you make but give without them “There's nothing you can do,” Stewart noted. “And you join the studio, and the studio will make you a deal, and you’ll sit in your room.”

The way Apple and other technology companies make their own products, services and entertainment relies on far fewer people. Technical managers in particular only promote those who can handle high deadline pressure and still reliably produce quality work.

“I can’t function like that,” Stewart admitted. O'Brien agreed, noting that his comedy writer friends have a much harder time finding work.

Stewart has previously pointed out that Apple blocked him from having US Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Lina Khan on “The Problem” spin-off podcast, sparking a conflict that ultimately led to the end of his Apple TV+ show led.

“This is the division, the earthquake that she has gone through,” he said. “So now Apple and Amazon go in and they go into the writers’ room? Wait, you have 14 writers and they are with you from start to finish in production?'”

“Well,” Steward said in response to the hypothetical summary of Apple and Amazon’s concerns, “it’s important that the writers are invested, and we also show them how they are on the page, because it’s different on the page than on the screen.” “You have to understand how this works and how we interact with the props.”

“And they say, you can have three weeks and it has to be on Zoom. And you can have four of them,” Steward said. O'Brien agreed, saying the way television is produced is changing “radically.”

“These companies don’t believe in institutional knowledge that enables people to grow, get better and create more,” Steward said. “What they believe now is the auteur system that has always existed in film and television… and this idea of ​​ruthlessly efficient content factories where it's the property that counts, not the individual creator,” 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 is expected to appear soon on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify Podcasts.