In his pre-show briefing with Oprah, Jack doesn't tell her Jon is missing. "In my head I'm thinking, 'OK, I hope he walks into the building in the next five minutes or we don't have a show,'" Jack says. "It's in God's hands."

Fifteen minutes to taping and Jon is nowhere to be found. "I'm in a full-blown panic," Jack says.

With five minutes to spare, Jon finally walks into the blue hallway. "I didn't know any of this was going on. In this stage of the game, 25 years in, all that stuff goes on truly behind the scenes," Oprah says. "And I'm really happy about it because in the early days I would be have been all in it."

The taping goes great—too great, in fact. Jon's appearance ran 18 minutes over schedule. "Jon was so funny I don't know what to cut out," Jack says. "This joke or this joke? It's like deciding between two of your children." 

See what made the cut

Watch Oprah and Jon discuss a possible Daily Show appearance after the show