Jon Stewart returning to 'The Daily Show' once a week

Jon Stewart is returning to host "The Daily Show" for one day per week through the election, a source confirmed to ABC News.

The news of Stewart's return to hosting the show, which will begin Feb. 12, was later confirmed by SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios.

Stewart will also take on the role of executive producer "to Shape Next Chapter of the Franchise," according to a press release.

"Jon Stewart is the voice of our generation, and we are honored to have him return to Comedy Central's The Daily Show to help us all make sense of the insanity and division roiling the country as we enter the election season," Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, said in a statement. "In our age of staggering hypocrisy and performative politics, Jon is the perfect person to puncture the empty rhetoric and provide much-needed clarity with his brilliant wit."

Stewart, 61, left "The Daily Show" in 2015 after 16 years in the hosting role.

The comedian took on the role in 1999, using wit and humor to present news in an entertaining manner that engaged a wide audience through historic events spanning the Sept. 11 terror attacks and war in the Middle East.

In more recent years, Stewart has advocated for health care funding for Sept. 11 first responders and pushed to pass the PACT Act, a law which expands benefits to veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits while serving in the military, which was signed into law in August 2022.

Stewart seemed to hint at his new role shortly after the news broke posting on X, "Friends. After much reflection I have decided to enter the transfer portal for my last year of eligibility. Excited for the future!"

Under the leadership of Stewart, "The Daily Show" won 20 Emmy Awards and three Peabody Awards. Stewart was also a 2022 recipient of the The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, an award that recognizes humorists with significant impacts on American society.

He hasn't strayed too far from TV in the years since he left "The Daily Show." He served as a producer on "The Colbert Report" and Stewart hosted two seasons of "The Problem With Jon Stewart," a talk show on Apple TV+, from 2021 to 2023.

"Frozen" actor Josh Gad, a former correspondent on the show, celebrated the host's return, posting on Instagram, "My old boss is returning to the Daily Show! Are you kidding?! All is right in the world. I will happily dust off my old suit and return as a guest correspondent for this man."

Trevor Noah, who hosted "The Daily Show" from 2015 until 2022, also noted his predecessor's part-time return, posting on X, "Yessssssss he's back."