The Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead: "It’s astounding how many people don’t know that two women created The Daily Show"

Los Angeles Times

Winstead, who launched The Daily Show on Comedy Central 25 years ago today with fellow co-creator Madeleine Smithberg, says they are often overlooked when it comes to the show's success. “Madeleine and I did a lot of work to lay out this cool show," says Winstead. "It exists for a reason — because we worked for hardly any money to make it happen.” Doug Herzog, the former Comedy Central president who commissioned The Daily Show, agrees. “They put this thing on the air, they brought it to life, they nurtured it. There’s obviously no Daily Show without Madeleine and Lizz,” he says. “This was a show led by two women at a time when late night was a boys’ club.” But credit for The Daily Show's rise has mostly gone to Jon Stewart. "He’s the visionary host who transformed the late-night show, once considered Comedy Central’s answer to SportsCenter, into a powerful force in American politics, a launchpad for a new generation of comedy talent and, for many, a trusted source of information," says the Los Angeles Times' Meredith Blake. "But the Great Man Theory of The Daily Show, which also includes Stewart’s predecessor and inaugural host, Craig Kilborn, and successor and current host, Trevor Noah, overlooks the contributions of two women essential to the series’ success: its creators." Smithberg and Winstead previously collaborated on MTV's The Jon Stewart Show. When they became neighbors in 1994, Smithberg was a producer on The Jon Stewart Show. Smithberg recruited Winstead, a stand-up comedian who specialized in politically charged material, to work for her as a segment producer. After The Jon Stewart Show's cancelation in 1995, they pitched Herzog a scripted show at a fictional cable network inspired by The Larry Sanders Show. That pitch evolved into The Daily Show. ALSO: What made The Daily Show the most influential late-night comedy of the last 25 years?