He’s back? Jon Stewart in new HBO short-form comedy deal

Jon Stewart said farewell to “The Daily Show” just a few months ago, but the veteran U.S. comic on Tuesday revealed his next career step -- a four-year production deal with premium cable network HBO.

The 52-year-old Stewart will initially work on digital shorts, with other projects to be announced as they are confirmed, HBO said.

“Jon Stewart led a revolution that changed the face of TV comedy on the 'Daily Show',” said Michael Lombardo, the president of HBO programming.

“He graced our network nearly 20 years ago, so we're thrilled to welcome back his immense talents in this next chapter of his career.”

In the initial phase of the deal, Stewart will produce “timely short-form digital content” to be featured on the network's applications such as HBO Now and HBO Go.

Stewart ended his award-winning 16-year run as host of “The Daily Show” in early August, handing the program over to South African comic Trevor Noah.

“Appearing on television 22 minutes a night clearly broke me. I'm pretty sure I can produce a few minutes of content every now and again,” Stewart joked, in the HBO statement.