Fans who tuned in to “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” on Monday night probably noticed that something was a little different.  The news desk, studio and background were all the same, but there was someone missing from the mock news show–Jon Stewart.  Instead, British political comedian John Oliver was manning the desk.

Back in March Stewart announced that he was taking a three month hiatus from the show so he could focus his time on directing a film he wrote, so fans have had plenty of time to prepare for his departure.  The movie Stewart is directing is called “Rosewater,” which is based on the story of journalist Maziar Bahair who was imprisoned and tortured in an Iran prison for 118 days.  The book Stewart based his screenplay on is the New York Times best-selling memoir “Then They Came for Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity and Survival.”

Stewart introduced Oliver during the show as the new host on Thursday night when he signed off for the summer. “This show will be much classier while he is hosting. You have my word that on my return, it will instantly drop back to the level you have long expected of it,” said Stewart.  Oliver ended the goodbye moment by saying, “It’s my show now!” and then stuffed Stewart’s pen in his pants.

Viewers of “The Daily Show” are used to seeing Oliver on the show–just not behind Stewart’s desk. Oliver has been a part of the show since 2006 as the Senior British Correspondent and loves doing the show.  “I’ve always striven to be both an entertainer and an irritant. I think that’s why I feel so at home ‘The Daily Show,'” Oliver said in an interview.  The fact that Oliver has been part of the show for so long played into the decision to have him stand in for Stewart during the summer and is making for an easier transition for viewers of the show.

Even though it probably helped to see a familiar face behind the desk, it still had to be a little surreal to see someone else occupying the spot Stewart has been at since 1999–especially since the show is still listed as “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”  At least the first names are pretty close.  Oliver admitted that it was all a little strange on Monday night when he said, “Welcome to ‘The Daily Show’, I am John Oliver and let’s all just acknowledge for a moment that this is weird.”

The jury is still out on how well Oliver resonates with viewers of “The Daily Show.”  Some find the change to be a little off-putting while others think that Oliver is so good that Stewart might be out of a job soon.  Considering Stewart is the co-executive producer of “The Daily Show,” that isn’t likely to happen, even if there is often a lot of speculation about Stewart taking off for another network. While some fans are either Team Jon or Team John, others aren’t picking sides and appreciate both of the comedians.  One fan had the following to say about the change: “I love Jon Stewart, but John Oliver is just as brilliant.”

Even if some viewers aren’t quite sold on Oliver just yet, he is sticking to the same mock reporting style used by Stewart.  Between the Verizon phone taps and National Security Agency scandal, he hasn’t lacked for reporting material.  Oliver reported on the NSA data collecting scandal by introducing a new segment for the show called, “Good News! You’re Not Paranoid (brought to you by tinfoil).”  When Oliver went to his correspondents to have them weigh in on the scandal, in typical “Daily Show” fashion they all complained about being passed up for the hosting job instead.

Oliver focused on Lindsey Graham, a senator from South Carolina who is no stranger to being criticized on “The Daily Show,” during the show on Tuesday night.  Oliver played a tape of Graham talking about how he welcomes the government monitoring phone calls if it saves lives, and then played another recording of Graham talking about being against background checks for gun purchases.  “Guns are one thing, but phone calls are too dangerous to go unchecked,” Oliver said sarcastically.

Regardless of whether viewers prefer Oliver as a correspondent over host, the show must go on and he is in it for the long haul until September, when Stewart is slated to return.