The early cast of ‘The Daily Show’ then and now

by Sarah Long
Jul 22, 2016 at 6:00 pm EDT

Jul 22, 2016 at 6:00 pm EDT

The early cast of 'The Daily — Image: Comedy Central

Yes, it’s seriously been 20 years since The Daily Show debuted! In honor of the anniversary, we’re taking a look back at the cast from the early days.

Image: Comedy Central

It’s hard to imagine the show pre-Jon Stewart, but Craig Kilborn was actually the original The Daily Show host.

Image: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese/YouTube

After he left The Daily Show in 1999, Kilborn hosted The Late Late Show until 2004, and popped up in movies like Old School and Benchwarmers. He then fell off the map until 2010, when he did a test run for a new series titled The Kilborn File, but the show didn’t get picked up.

He all but disappeared again until early in 2016, when he surfaced in this ad for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.

Image: Comedy Central

Not that Kilborn wasn’t a great host, but, let’s face it, Jon Stewart pretty much is The Daily Show.

Image: Brian To/WENN

Since leaving behind the grind of The Daily Show in 2015, Stewart is taking some time to get some much-needed R & R. He still pops up in hilarious skits on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert or Full Frontal with Samantha Bee every now and again.

In addition to his occasional cameos, Stewart also currently serves as executive producer for The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.

Image: IMDb

Ross served as a correspondent on The Daily Show for 10 episodes throughout 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Image: Nicky Nelson/WENN

Now we all know and love Ross as the Grand Poobah of celebrity roasts. He also pops up from time to time in movies and TV shows like Grandfathered, Dr. Ken and Kingdom.

Image: Comedy Central

In addition to being one of The Daily Show‘s creators, Winstead also was head writer for 225 episodes in 1996 and 1997. She was also a contributor/commentator/correspondent for 25 episodes during her tenure as head writer.

Image: Lizz Winstead/Twitter

Nowadays, Winstead is a pro-choice activist. She also penned a hilarious book of essays titled, Lizz Free or Die, which was released a couple years back.

Image: iamnotaturkey/Tumblr

Showalter (pictured here on the left with Michael Ian Black) was a correspondent on the very first episode ever of The Daily Show.

Image: Michael Showalter/Twitter

He’s moved on to be a writer/director/producer extraordinaire. He reprised his role of Wet Hot American Summer‘s Coop in 2015, for Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.

Image: Comedy Central

Unger was a Daily Show correspondent for 125 episodes from 1996-1998.

Image: Brian Unger/Twitter

Now Unger hosts Time Traveling with Brian Unger on the Travel Channel and How the States Got Their Shapes on the History Channel. He also plays The Attorney on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Image: ABC

Before Colbert changed the world as we know it with The Colbert Report, he was just a baby faced Good Morning America and The Daily Show correspondent way back in 1997.

Image: Stephen Colbert/Twitter

Colbert took over hosting duties from David Letterman in 2015, and now brings his very special brand of comedy to The Late Show.

Image: Comedy Central

Littleford was a correspondent on the show from 1996-2000.

Image: Beth Littleford/Twitter

Since leaving The Daily Show, Littleford has enjoyed a steady career on TV and most recently starred in the Disney Channel show Dog with a Blog from 2012-2015.

Image: Comedy Central

Rocca joined The Daily Show cast in 1998.

Image: Mo Rocca/Twitter

Rocca stayed on as a correspondent until 2015 and has balanced a very busy TV career, as well. He’s been a correspondent for CBS News, and worked on Jeopardy! and Iron Chef, among many other things.

Most recently, he hosted the TV documentary series The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation and played Ted Willoughby on The Good Wife.