NEW YORK - "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,'' whose phony news coverage has long included phony "remotes'' from war-torn Iraq, will be reporting from Iraq for real next week.
Giving its green screen a temporary rest, the Comedy Central series will air "Operation Silent Thunder: `The Daily Show' in Iraq,'' several onsite dispatches filed by Senior War Correspondent Rob Riggle.
Riggle will provide what the network calls "in-depth coverage and insights from the front lines.'' Scheduled to be back in New York this weekend, he begins his reports as soon as Monday. ("The Daily Show'' airs Monday through Thursday on CTV and The Comedy Network.)
While in Iraq, Riggle performed for U.S. troops with fellow comedians Horatio Sanz, Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer as part of an entertainment tour titled "Operation Feel the Heat.''
Besides "The Daily Show,'' Riggle's credits include "Saturday Night Live,'' "The Office'' and "Arrested Development.'' A major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, he served in Liberia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.