On with the Motley: Television Satire and Discursive Integration in the Post-Stewart/Colbert Era

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report became cultural phenomena in mid-2000s. Their influence on politics and the news media brought political satire on television to a new level of prominence as politicians, world leaders, authors, and journalists flocked to the Comedy Central shows to spread their messages. The shows greatly expanded the boundaries of previous television satire programs by offering in-depth analysis of important issues in creative, hilarious ways, while taking the news media to task when it failed to critically inquire into government claims. When Stephen Colbert ended his show in 2014 and Stewart departed The Daily Show the next year, they left a gap in television satire that has yet to be completely filled.

This thesis explores the current state of satirical television news shows. The manuscript traces the emergence of political satire on television. Then, through the theory of discursive integration, the thesis takes an in-depth look at Stewart and Colbert’s satire, and investigates current political satire in the post-Stewart/Colbert era. The thesis explores current political satire in the context of the shows that came before it, again using discursive integration as a theoretical underpinning. The goal of the thesis is to gain an understanding of where current satire fits in the historical context of television satire, and how newer shows have pushed discursive boundaries established by The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report.