Jon Stewart's Next Project is a Animated Show For HBO

The one-time Daily Show host Jon Stewart is soon to make his return to TV, this time on HBO. In surprising news, it's emerged that the new show will, in fact, be animated. Much as with his previous work, the series will be topical, and will satirise the world of cable news- familiar ground for Stewart.

This is where it gets really interesting. As animation is such a time-consuming process, it has not traditionally been the medium of choice for topical satire. However, digital technology has made it possible to turn things around much quicker, resulting in shows like the early 2000's UK series 2D TV, and of course South Park, which are able to react to current affairs. The previous efforts like this have all been 2D animation, but it seems like this will be different.

The animation is being made possible by a company named OTOY,  who claim to offer "cinematic real-time rendering". HBO bought a stake in the company earlier this year.

The platform will apparently allow Stewart to comment on events "in real-time", which makes it sound like this will essentially be similar to a form of digital puppetry, with the emphasis distinctly on the writing over the animation itself.

The series will also offer short-form content (presumably to be distributed via platforms such as Youtube) although it's not clear whether this will be additional to the broadcast show, or if they will just release extracts.

Other details are to be confirmed, but it is expected to air this year- possibly as soon as September.

[source]