Fake It to the Limit

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As for Stewart's future? Power brokers are already pondering his next move. ''It's a very small group of people who can do late-night shows well, and Jon Stewart is in that club,'' says a network late-night exec. ''In the next couple of years, it's no secret there are likely to be a number of changes.'' Translation: O'Brien's deal comes due soon, and Kilborn and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel aren't putting up the kind of numbers that ensure long-term job security. ''We hope Jon stays forever,'' says Comedy Central exec Rich Korson.

Stewart would jump to a broadcast network only if he kept the near-complete creative control he now has. ''Would I like a late-night show? Um, if it was 'The Alan Thicke Show,' no. If it were an amalgam of what we're doing here and some other ideas I have -- maybe.... I hate to say it: I feel content. And driven at the same time. Hopefully, that's a combination that will work for a while, until I go into the next phase -- which is, of course, fear of death.'' (Additional reporting by Dan Snierson)

(This is an online-only excerpt of Entertainment Weekly's Oct. 31, 2003, cover story.)