What Makes The Daily Show Funny?
Even with serious issues - Head Writer Dan Amira opens up
In 1996, Jon Stewart jolted Comedy Central by injecting daily news with humour and biting satire. Now, almost thirty years and a swag of comedy awards later, The Daily Show has seen various hosts and is still going strong. It continues to define late-night comedy television to its dedicated audience. Creative Screenwriting Magazine spoke with long time head writer/ producer Dan Amira about the show’s success and longevity.
It all begins with the creators’ attitude to the show. They don’t specifically chase satire. “We just try to do what we find funny. The news comes in every day. We have a big discussion about it as a group. We find the angles that we think are going to be the funniest for us and for our audience,” explains Amira.
The writers don’t think about the comedic nuances on a philosophical level. “We just go where the funny takes us on a given story.” This approach seems to work best for The Comedy Channel.
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