Back in the mid-1990s, no-one quite knew what to do with Jon Stewart. He was clearly destined for something great, and networks and broadcasters were keen to find him the right show. It took some time, and he clearly ended up in exactly the right place, by way of The Jon Stewart Show and The Larry Sanders Show. Every step of the journey informs the process though, and so it was with Where’s Elvis This Week?.
Filmed in New York, but made by BBC Two, Jon welcomed four guests each week, two from either side of the Atlantic, where they would explain to one another the week’s news in their own country.
Here’s the first episode, as aired on Sunday October the 6th, 1996. It features Scott Capurro, Laurie Pike, Phill Jupitus, and Eddie Izzard, back when Eddie Izzard wasn’t doing TV.
The show ran for five episodes all told. The second featured Dave Chappelle, Helen Gurley Brown, Christopher Hitchens, and Tony Hawks. The third has Felix Dexter, Norm MacDonald, Joe Queenan, and Lowri Turner. Epsiode four welcomed Martin Clunes, David Baddiel, Ed Koch, and Wendy Wasserstein. While the final one had Armando Iannucci, Craig Kilborn, Arthur Smith, and Nora Ephron.
