Madeleine Smithberg

Madeleine Smithberg (born September 23, 1959) is an American Emmy and Peabody award-winning TV producer best known for her work on The Daily Show for Comedy Central, which she co-created with Lizz Winstead and ran for 7 years.[1] As Executive Producer she is credited for many of The Daily Show's notable casting choices including Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Mo Rocca, and Steve Carell.[2] Prior to her work on The Daily Show she spent 6 years as a producer at Late Night with David Letterman.

Early life

Smithberg is originally from New York City and graduated from Binghamton University.[3][4]

Career

Smithberg began her career as a producer at RAI, Italian national television. After this she obtained a role at Late Night with David Letterman, working her way up from coordinator to producer, where she was responsible for booking human-interest guests.[5]

Smithberg and Winstead were developing a Larry Sanders-type show at Comedy Central when the then-president of the network, Doug Herzog, asked them to pivot and work on a daily show to replace Politically Incorrect, which was leaving the network and moving to ABC.[6][7]

In 2024, she announced she was working on a memoir about her time in comedy. [8] It is slated to be published March 2, 2027 by Regalo Press, an imprint of Post Hill Press. [9][10]

Awards

  • 2000 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Indecision 2000[11]
  • 2003 Prime Time Emmy Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series[12]

References

  1. ↑ Armstrong, Jennifer Keishin (2015-01-27). "Meet the Woman Who Invented "The Daily Show" | Dame Magazine". Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  2. ↑ Armstrong, Jennifer Keishin (2015-01-27). "Meet the Woman Who Invented "The Daily Show" | Dame Magazine". Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  3. ↑ "Madeleine Smithberg". Stimola Literary Studio. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  4. ↑ O'Malley -, Liam (2014-03-07). "The big names in entertainment who you didn't realize were alumni". Pipe Dream. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  5. ↑ Jett Road Studios (2024-04-22). Madeleine Smithberg on The Daily Show, Letterman, and Yappy Broads. Retrieved 2026-07-15 – via YouTube.
  6. ↑ Armstrong, Jennifer Keishin (2015-01-27). "Meet the Woman Who Invented "The Daily Show" | Dame Magazine". Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  7. ↑ Austerlitz, Saul (2021-07-21). "'The Daily Show' at 25: The Creators Look Back". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  8. ↑ Pinsker, Beth (2024-10-26). "Legendary 'Letterman' and 'Daily Show' producer on discovering hidden talent on the job — and in herself — at 65". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  9. ↑ Finding the Funny. 2027-03-02. ISBN 979-8-89565-794-2.
  10. ↑ Milliot |, Jim. "Regalo Press Finds Its Niche". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  11. ↑ "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Indecision 2000 - The Peabody Awards". 2019-10-18. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  12. ↑ "Madeleine Smithberg | Emmy Awards and Nominations". Television Academy. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
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