J.J. Abrams was the guest on The Daily Show last night, and lest you think that host Jon Stewart is somehow not a nerd, the conversation between the two quickly delved into a Star Wars vs. Star Trek discussion that had Stewart lambasting Abrams for saying he wasn’t a fan of Trek growing up.  It’s a pretty great (and candid) conversation, and Abrams also talks a bit about how his approach to Star Wars differs to that of Star Trek.  Moreover, the two talk briefly about Stewart’s upcoming directorial debut, Rosewater, with Abrams revealing that he provided some input on Stewart’s script for the film, which is slated to shoot this summer.  Hit the jump to watch the full interview.

Comedy Central has announced the transition dates for The Daily Show while host Jon Stewart goes off to make his directorial debut.  We learned a couple of months ago that Stewart would be taking a break from the comedy news show this summer to direct the feature film Rosewater, which tells the true story of a BBC journalist’s 118 captivity in Iran’s most notorious prison.  At the time it was announced that frequent correspondent John Oliver would be filling in for Stewart during his absence, and now the network has announced that Oliver’s hosting duties will begin on June 10th with guest Seth Rogen.  Stewart won’t return to the show until September 3rd, making for quite the extended hiatus.

While there’s simply no substitute for Stewart’s whipsmart sense of humor, Oliver should do fine in the Daily Show chair.  The comedian recently filed a brilliant three-part series on gun control that aired last week, and I’m interested to see what The Daily Show looks like in his hands.

Well here’s the definition of bittersweet: Jon Stewart will be taking a hiatus from hosting The Daily Show this summer in order to make his feature directing debut.  Stewart wrote and will direct Rosewater, an adaptation of Maziar Bahari’s book Then They Came for Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity And Survival.  Though Stewart is best known for his comedic chops on The Daily Show, the past five years or so have seen the host make some brilliantly dramatic—and at times angry—turns on the comedy news program, solidifying himself as one of the most respected, sharp, and eloquent personalities on television.

Hardly a comedy, Rosewater chronicles BBC journalist Bahari’s 118 day captivity in Iran’s most notorious prison after leaving London in June of 2009 to cover the country’s presidential elections.  The title is derived from the fact that Bahari knew only one thing about his brutal interrogator: he smelled of Rosewater.  Hit the jump for more, including how The Daily Show plans to cover Stewart’s absence. [Update: We've updated the article with the press release along with video of Bahari's appearance on The Daily Show]

Yesterday we brought you the Critics’ Choice Award nominees.  Tonight belongs to the Television Critics Association.  Homeland tops the list with 4 nominations.  While it got the extra boost over established veterans in the Outstanding New Program category, the taut thriller earned its spots in Best Drama and Program of the Year as well as the nod to Claire Danes for her stellar performance.  The critics understandably still love Breaking Bad and Bryan Cranston, Mad Men and Jon Hamm, Louie and Louis C.K., Game of Thrones and Peter Dinklage, Parks and Recreation and Amy Poehler.  Creator/star Lena Dunham is the freshest face in the bunch, representing in both Individual Achievement in Comedy and Outstanding New Program with Girls.  But as always, there are a few head-scratchers.  Jessica Lange for American Horror Story is a legacy vote, and while her scenery-chewing was very entertaining—for Individual Achievement in Drama?  No.  And Smash somehow sneaked into Outstanding New Program rather than, say, Veep or Awake.

Still, the TCA always gets more right than they do wrong, especially with their neat Heritage Award.  (This year’s eclectic contenders are Cheers, Lost, Saturday Night Live, Star Trek, and Twin Peaks.)  Read the full list after the jump.

As he did with the press for Borat and Bruno, Sacha Baron Cohen is currently doing the publicity rounds for The Dictator completely in character.  Yesterday we shared his appearance on Saturday Night Live, and last night he took part in an interview with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show as Admiral General Aladeen.  It’s a pretty fun watch, and Stewart does a fine job of playing along with the bit as best he can, but when the interview inevitably takes a turn towards dick jokes it’s understandably tough for Stewart to keep a straight face.

Hit the jump to watch the clip.  The Dictator opens on May 16th.

Internet nerds and comedy geeks were brought perilously close together a few days ago when The Daily Show introduced Attack of The Show’s Olivia Munn as the latest guest correspondent on Jon Stewart’s political comedy series.  Munn showed up as the “Senior Asian Correspondent”, reporting on the disastrous BP oil spill down in the Gulf of Mexico, and it’s probably not a coincidence that her debut bit was also one of the funniest we’ve seen on The Daily Show in months (which is saying something): Munn’s a gifted comedic actress– as she’s proven on G4′s AOTS many times over. With that in mind– along with the brand-new NBC series, Perfect Couples, she has on the horizon, Collider’s Scott Wampler talked with Olivia to get to the bottom of her awesomeness.  Read it for yourselves after the jump…