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“Doug Herzog and Michele Ganeless of Comedy Central gave me an incredible opportunity 17 years ago to pilot this wonderful franchise,” he told the audience Tuesday night. “Seventeen years is the longest in my life I have ever held a job in my life by 16 years and five months, the upshot there being I am a terrible employee, but in my heart I know it is time for someone else to have that opportunity.”

Stewart added that there was no definitive date when he would retire from the show. He threw out a series of dates, including mid-summer or the end of the year. The most likely is September, when his Comedy Central contract is up.

“I’m going to have dinner on a school night with my family, who I have heard from multiple sources are lovely people,” he added, suggesting that his departure was in part to spend more time with his children and spouse.

Stewart alluded that he was starting to grow restless with work-a-day aspects of the show. He said The Daily Show audience didn’t deserve a host that was focused.

“I don’t think I’m going to miss being on television every day. I’m going to miss coming here every day,” he said. “I love the people here, they’re the best. They’re creative, they’re collaborative, they’re kind. I love them and respect them so much.”

Speculation will soon begin as to who might replace Stewart. Unfortunately, former correspondent John Oliver is hosting his own program, Last Week Tonight, on HBO. Oliver hosted The Daily Show during a summer when Stewart was directing his debut feature film.

Another option, Larry Wilmore, took over Stephen Colbert’s time slot with The Nightly Show.

Stewart has hosted The Daily Show since 1999. He took over for Craig Kilborn, who left the program to host the Late Late Show.

Not long before Jon Stewart announced he was leaving The Daily Show, Rosie O’Donnell, co-host of The View told the daytime talk show’s audience that the Thursday, Feb. 12, episode would be her last.

This is the second time she will depart The View earlier than most anticipated. O’Donnell hosted The View in 2006, leaving in 2007 after some controversy (a confrontation with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck) and seemingly not on the best of terms.

This time, O’Donnell is leaving the program for health reasons. The talk show host suffered a heart attack two years ago. The workday stress of daytime television wasn’t good for her continued recovery, she said.

“Stress is very bad for heart attack survivors,” she said in a video posted online. “You should minimize your stress, maximize your exercise and control your diet. That’s what you need to do for a healthy heart. So that’s what I’m doing.”

O’Donnell told The Daily News that she was moving back to Sarasota, Fla., where she owns a home.

She received high-fives and high compliments from her co-stars. The audience gave her a standing ovation.

“I just want to say thank you to all the cast here and the crew and mostly to Barbara Walters,” she told the audience. “And I want to thank her for making this show and letting me be on it twice. We’ve had fun, and I hope we’re gonna have more. I’ll come back and do an occasionally crafting segment ‘cause I have a hot glue gun and I will travel.”

Some “insider reports” suggest O’Donnell decided to depart the show because of clashes with co-host Whoopi Goldberg and the realization that Goldberg would always be the headliner on the program. Other say that while there was some drama behind the scenes, that was all part of the show and not why O’Donnell chose to leave the show.

Recent reports suggest Comedy Central is mulling over a short list of possible replacements for The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart. Stewart, who has hosted the show for nearly two decades, announced he would leave the anchor chair sometime in 2015 – most likely in the fall when his contract expires.

Bloggers are pegging any number of Daily Show correspondents and frequent guests as likely replacements. While there are a fair number of funny satirists on staff, finding someone to match the political and satirical gravitas Stewart built over those years will be extremely difficult.

The scary truth may be that The Daily Show will need to evolve to fit the presenter (comedian, satirist, columnist) Comedy Central final hires. In short, the third iteration of The Daily Show will be as different from the last as Stewart’s was from Craig Kilborn’s.

So, yes, in a manner of speaking, The Daily Show is like Dr. Who.

Who could replace Jon Stewart? Who might be on that Comedy Central shortlist? Here are my top five guesses:

1.  John Oliver (The Obvious One)

Nevermind that Comedy Central says he has a job and he’s spoken for (HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), Oliver is the clear choice to replace Stewart. Do we think it will happen. Probably not. But crazier things have happened. I mean, if Sony and Disney can find a way to share Spider-Man, HBO and Comedy Central could strike a deal to allow Oliver to host The Daily Show Monday through Thursday, then head over to HBO for his Sunday show. True, it would be a heavy workload. But with some revamping, it might be possible. Oliver hosted The Daily Show during the summer of 2013 while Stewart was on sabbatical, directing the feature film Rosewater. Oliver won over audiences and critics with his performance, which eventually led to his HBO program.

2.  Mo Rocca (The Nostalgic One)

Mo Rocca was one of the show’s most popular correspondents while serving on the show from 1998 to 2003. While his headline news delivery likely wouldn’t come across in the same powerful cadence as Stewart or Oliver, his reputation as a newsman for CBS news and his regular appearances as a panelist on the NPR quiz show Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me! provide him with journalism bona fides many comedians and satirists can’t match. His delivery would be markedly different. Rocca’s cadence is often nasally and a little whining at times. But his interview skills are top notch and he’d come ready to play. 

3.  Cole Bolton (The Dark Horse)

You may not know Cole Bolton by name, but if you like your satire biting and hilarious, you know his work. Bolton is the editor of The Onion, once a weekly news satire shared freely among college campuses and hip urban areas. I have no idea how well he would be in front of a live studio audience, but the style of satire his publication delivers is the caliber of news satire Comedy Central and Daily Show producers need to consider. Amazingly, Bolton was an economist working for the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago when he landed a gig with The Onion. His sense of humor, timing and wit carried him to editor of the tabloid and online publication.

4.  Andy Borowitz (The Favorite)

A shout-out to this Cleveland-area native who publishes the popular The Borowitz Report. The politically satirical column, now a part of the The New Yorker, started as a email from comedian and writer Borowitz to his friends. At the time, he was a successful comedy writer on shows like Square Pegs and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The email became a blog that became a website, before it was purchased by The New Yorker. Borowitz’s notoriety grew, and he even landed a spot as a guest political report on The Daily Show during the 2004 Democratic National Convention. One thing led to another, and Borowitz started picking up all kinds of accolades: Rave reviews for his “Countdown to Election,” guest starring Arianna Huffington, Mo Rocca, Jonathan Alter, Joy Behar, and Jeffrey Toobin. CBS Sunday Morning named him one of the funniest people in America. In many ways, Borowitz is the odds-on favorite to succeed Stewart (if John Oliver does not return). 

5.  Tina Fey (The Dream Anchor)

It won’t happen. I know it won’t happen. You know it won’t happen. But if you can’t have John Oliver, Tina Fey is he fake news anchor you want behind that desk. Fey revolutionized Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live, bringing a style and sensibility all her own to the segment. That creative satire continues today, even though Fey has been off the show for nearly a decade. Fey brings with her to two things you desperately need for The Daily Show – an absurd sense of humor and a passion for calling out political inconsistencies and spotlighting social causes.

Apmosphere, The Blog.