Jon Stewart explains why he's leaving the 'Daily Show'

NEW YORK, April 19 (UPI) -- Jon Stewart has opened up about his decision to leave Comedy Central's The Daily Show after 17 years as host.

In an interview with The Guardian, Stewart said he became increasingly less satisfied with the work of the show.

"It's not like I thought the show wasn't working any more, or that I didn't know how to do it. It was more, 'Yup, it's working. But I'm not getting the same satisfaction,'" Stewart said.

"These things are cyclical," he added. "You have moments of dissatisfaction, and then you come out of it and it's OK. But the cycles become longer and maybe more entrenched, and that's when you realise, 'OK, I'm on the back side of it now.'"

Stewart also said he wasn't looking forward to covering another presidential election cycle.

"Honestly, it was a combination of the limitations of my brain and a format that is geared towards following an increasingly redundant process, which is our political process," he said. "I'd covered an election four times, and it didn't appear that there was going to be anything wildly different about this one."

Stewart, 52, announced February 10 that he would be retiring from the long-running satirical news program, though he has not said when he will leave.

Trevor Noah, a 31-year-old South African comedian, was named Stewart's replacement last month.