John Oliver stepped down as the Daily Show's temporary host last night after two months in the chair. The correspondent had been standing in for regular host Jon Stewart, who took the summer off to direct his first feature film, Rosewater. Oliver's performance has been met with near universal acclaim, with many critics speculating on both his future and the direction of the Daily Show itself. Here's what they said.

Deadline explained that Oliver's success will have buoyed Viacom's president Doug Herzog, "who has learned from the experience that there can be life after Stewart", and says this summer has been "a big win" for Comedy Central.

The Hollywood Reporter praised his time on the show, saying "he can give himself a pat on the back" and noting that Oliver has "proven to be an equally impressive draw", reporting that the stand-in kept the show's ratings consistently high.

New York magazine's Vulture site was even more effusive. "People weren't necessarily expecting Oliver to fail, but no one was predicting he'd be this good this quickly," they raved, speculating that Oliver has now been firmly established as Stewart's "heir apparent", should Stewart ever decide to leave the show.

Variety made a similar point. "Comedy Central knows it has developed another highly poach-able commodity in Oliver, as well as a legitimate substitute should Stewart again be bitten by the 'I want to stretch as an artist' bug."

Mediaite went one further, suggesting that rather than waiting for Stewart to step down, Comedy Central should give Oliver his own star vehicle. "Oliver is (arguably) just as effective as Stewart, but can come at 1/10th the cost."

So what do you think? Has John Oliver lived up to Jon Stewart's tenure? Will you miss him now he's gone or are you pleased Stewart is back? What were your Oliver-era highlights? Let us know below.