Jon Stewart spent his summer hiatus directing his first film, "Rosewater," a true story about a London-based journalist who was detained and brutally interrogated in 2009 while reporting on Iran's presidential election.

So, you'd think that after his first summer off in nearly 15 years, Stewart would be eager to dig into some of the major stories he missed while on location. Which, of course, he did with a series of segments on the conflict in Syria on Tuesday night's return show.

But, first things first. When fill-in correspondent John Oliver went to greet Stewart in the show's opening bit, he found his old friend sporting a shaggy beard and speaking in unintelligible Arabic. Perplexed, Oliver attempted to bring back the "real" Stew Beef.

"Jon's back, but I think the Middle East has changed him," Oliver told fellow correspondent Jessica Williams. "He's not even acting American. Get a defibrillator ... and two Big Macs."

The shock to the chest seemed to do the trick ... except they went too far and Stewart popped back up as a redneck comedian in a sleeveless plaid shirt and camo hat ranting about Obamacare and Paula Deen. After several other attempts — which turned Stewart into an ancient Jewish prophet, a British scholar, Smurf and late Queen singer Freddie Mercury — it seemed like Oliver and Williams had the right formula.

That is, until Stewart emerged sporting pig tails and wearing a flesh-colored leotard, rubbing his nether regions with a foam finger ...

Time to dust off those dancing shoes and shine the mirror ball trophy, because the lineup for the 17th season of "Dancing with the Stars" has been announced, and it seems the competition is going to be fierce.

The 12 contestants were announced on Wednesday (September 4) on "Good Morning America" with MTV's own Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi vying for the championship. The fit new mom, whose son Lorenzo recently celebrated his first birthday, took to Twitter to share her excitement and a photo of her with dancing partner Sasha Farber.

"With my fabulous dancer Sasha!!!," Snooki tweeted. "Lets do this 💃💃💃💃💃#GMAdancing"

Snooki, whose third season of "Snooki & JWOWW" kicks off next month, isn't the first "Jersey Shore" alum to participate on the dancing show, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino was a contestant in 2010, but was eliminated in week four.

Taking on the pint-sized reality star are Bill Nye, "Glee" star Amber Riley, "Pretty Little Liars" actor Brant Daugherty, Jack Osbourne, "High School Musical" star Corbin Bleu and Christina Milian.

"Well.. Here we are! Ready for this crazy adventure. I'm so ready to try something new and 🙏 I'm great at it!! Lol! @markballas is my partner in crime!," Milian posted on Instagram. "The #officialnew #cast of #DancingWithTheStars on @GMA@christinamilian"

Rounding out the rest of the contestants are "Saved by the Bell" actress Elizabeth Berkley, Leah Remini, Valerie Harper, Bill Engvall of "Blue Collar Comedy" and former NFL player Keyshawn Johnson.

The new season of "Dancing with the Stars" kicks off with a two-hour premiere Monday, September 16 at 8 ...

Lady Gaga may be boldly going where only Britney, Bruno, Bieber (and a whole lot of musicians whose names don't begin with the letter B) have gone before: pulling double duty as host and musical guest on "Saturday Night Live."

Yes, according to TVLine.com, Gaga is in discussions to return to "SNL" this season, and this time, she'd take on hosting duties in addition to performing.

It would mark the Mother Monster's third stint on show show — she's previously served as the musical guest in 2009 and 2011 — and, in her previous appearances, she acted in several sketches with hosts Ryan Reynolds and Justin Timberlake (including "What's That Name?" and "Deep House Dish," which pitted her in a dance-off against Madonna).

Of course, her fans may not want to set their DVRs just yet: a spokesperson for NBC declined to comment on the report, saying that "SNL's" fall lineup is still being finalized (the show's 39th season premieres on September 28). Gaga's ARTPOP album is due on November 11, and she's been firing up the promotional machine in support of it, including the live debut of first single "Applause" at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.

Over the show's lengthy history, everyone from Paul Simon to MC Hammer has served as both host and musical guest on "SNL," though in recent years, it's become even more commonplace: Taylor Swift did double duty in 2009, Bruno Mars pulled off the feat in 2012, and last year, Justin Bieber handled both tasks.

When the next "Michael Bay has previously discussed, we will see the beginning of a new "Transformers" storyline and trilogy. But, as the recently revealed titled indicates, the new film starring Mark Wahlberg may also be the end of something.

The next movie in the series, according to the film's first teaser poster, will be "Transformers: Age of Extinction."

The one sheet has the same logo we've been seeing associated with the fourth movie in the series, covered partially in sand and sitting on what looks like the desert floor. A Decepticon symbol is split down the middle with a stylized "4" next to it. This had led many to believe that the title might opt for simply tacking on the number to the end, but "Age of Extinction" is in keeping with the two previous films, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," and "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

"Age of Extinction" also seems like a clear reference to the series' newest additions to the robot roster. The fan-favorite Dinobots, robots that change into metallic dinosaurs as opposed to expensive cars, will appear in the fourth film. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura recently confirmed the rumor to Beijing News saying, "I cannot disclose the specifics, but you can be sure that the arrival of the Dinobots will give the audience a lot to be excited about."

The after-colon portion of the title may seem familiar for its similarities to another upcoming sequel, "Avenger: Age of Ultron." The follow-up to Marvel's superhero team-up, due in theaters May 1, 2015, announced ...

Summer may be over, but MTV News has the cure for any blues you may have: our list of the biggest fall releases. Stick with us all week as we count down the 26 most massive albums on deck over the next three months from A to Z. From Ariana Grande and Beyoncé to Lady Gaga, One Direction, Rick Ross and Zendaya, we've got everything you need to know on the music you'll need to own.

Today's list kicks off with the new release from Future, as well as the highly anticipated second part of Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience project, the debut full lengths from Icona Pop and HAIM and Katy Perry's Prism.

And don't forget to check out Monday's fall preview, featuring Ariana Grande, Avicii and 2 Chainz and Tuesday's edition with all the news on Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Drake and Eminem.

Future: Honest

Release date: November 26

The word: "Honest is the new me. It represents the truth I try to bring to my music," Future told Rap-Up TV in August. "I plan to break the mold with this album so that it will be nothing like you've heard from me or any other artist out. You can either tell the truth or face the Future."

Hear this: The melodic and subdued first single and title track picks up with Future left off with his debut Pluto. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Key players: There is no confirmed track list yet, but Future has had recent studio sessions with Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus and ...

Kanye West pocketed a reported $3 million for his performance at the wedding of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev's grandson over the weekend, a controversial payout considering international protests over Nazarbayev's human rights record.

In recent years, the Human Rights Watch has criticized "deteriorating" freedoms in the nation, including "credible allegations of torture, the imprisonment of government critics, tightening controls over the media and continued violations of workers' rights." Nazarbayev himself has been described as an "ultimate oligarch," and has been accused of transferring at least $1 billion of oil revenues to his private bank accounts in other countries.

Two years ago, Sting canceled a concert in Kazakhstan after learning of the government's crackdown on striking oil workers, calling their treatment "unacceptable."

Of course, in recent years, this type of controversy has become common: In 2011, documents obtained by WikiLeaks revealed that several high-profile stars accepted sizeable paychecks to perform for dubious leaders. Beyoncé, Mariah Carey and Usher sang at New Year's Eve parties thrown by the family of (now deceased) Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi — Carey released a statement saying she was of who had booked her for the gig, while both Beyoncé and Usher announced they were donating their proceeds to various charities.

Ealier this year, Jennifer Lopez was criticized by the Human Rights Foundation for bringing in more than $9 million for entertaining "some of the world's worst thugs and their cronies." The HRF pointed to several private parties Lopez had performed at, including the June 2013 birthday party ...

Nicki Minaj is everywhere. The Young Money cash queen has spent the summer lending her voice to tracks for Chris Brown, Busta Rhymes, Mario, Ciara and Nelly, blessing them all with stunning music video appearances to match.

Well, the rapping Barbie shows no signs of slowing down. On Tuesday (September 3), Minaj appeared as a guest in two new music videos: one from DJ Khaled and another from Wale.

Khaled's is the first collaboration between the two since the charismatic DJ brought a 10-karat diamond ring up to MTV News and cooked up a marriage proposal for his YMCMB labelmate. There were no vows exchanged in the video, but Nicki managed to stand out in the Colin Tilley-directed clip, which also features Rick Ross and Future.

In the clip, which premiered on MTV Jams Tuesday, a blond-haired Nicki sits against a purple backdrop, wearing a white dress and rapping her rapid-fire rhymes. "Baddest bitch, I'm the catalyst/ Ain't never been done, bitch I added this," she rhymes. Throughout the clip Nicki keeps a serious tone about her, once again proving that she can hold her own when matched up against the boys.

Wale's "Clappers" takes on a drastically different tone, with Nicki sporting a drastically different look. The latest single from Wale's The Gifted is an ode to big butts that is set to a go-go-inspired instrumental. After the MMG standout and guest spitter Juicy J get their go, Nicki brings up the rear in the rump-shaking party, wearing a yellow tank top and pink tights. "Got ass ...

Besides their recent feature on J.Cole's single "Crooked Smile," it's been more than eight years since Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas have released music under the name TLC. But come October 15, the duo will be making their big return with an album featuring both new songs and rereleases of some of their most beloved tracks.

"We wouldn't call it a 'Greatest Hits'; a lot of people are saying that for some reason," T-Boz told MTV News after presenting Drake's performance at the 2013 VMAs. "We rerecorded all of our old hits and we'll have some additional new — hopefully — hits and smashes too."

Eleven years after Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes' was killed in a car accident, the duo has enlisted some surprise guests to fill in for the MC. T-Boz told us, "We're excited about that because so many artists are coming to the table and being so supportive about this whole situation."

Among those collaborators might just be Lady Gaga, who co-wrote "Posh Life," one of the new releases off TLC's upcoming LP, with Dallas Austin. T-Boz and Chilli said the Mother Monster recorded the song for herself but didn't release it to the public since it so blatantly resembled a TLC joint.

"She was like, 'I don't want to disrespect the girls,' so we were like, 'Let's sing it and see how it goes, I mean you wrote it.' It was so funny [hearing] her [sing] like us, so hilarious," T-Boz said. "I was just like, why not sing it then? And she was just ...