Trevor Noah announced as new host of 'The Daily Show'

South African comedian Trevor Noah will replace Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show.'

|
Byron Keulemans/Comedy Central
Trevor Noah has been selected to become the next host of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning “The Daily Show,” it was announced today by Michele Ganeless, president, Comedy Central. His show’s premiere will be announced at a later date.

Comedy Central has announced Monday that South African comedian Trevor Noah will replace Jon Stewart as host of 'The Daily Show' when Mr. Stewart departs later this year.

Mr. Noah, who first appeared on the show this past December, is a well known comedian from South Africa. So far, Noah has done only three segments: one on Ebola, one on Boko Haram, and one in which he played a game of chess with Stewart.

But he comes with Stewart’s endorsement. “I’m thrilled for the show and for Trevor,” Stewart said in a statement. “He’s a tremendous comic and talent that we’ve loved working with.” Stewart added that he “may rejoin as a correspondent just to be a part of it!”

Prior to working for “The Daily Show,” Noah hosted a well-known late-night talk show in South Africa, as well as a several radio programs and the South African Music Awards.

He has also performed stand-up shows around the world. Entertainment Weekly describes his comedy as “a solid balance between understatement and outrage,” much like Stewart’s.

Despite his success overseas, he is not yet well known in America and his appointment came as a surprise to many, including Noah.

“You don’t believe it for the first few hours,” Noah said of learning about his new job.

In a press release he added “It’s an honor to follow Jon Stewart. He and the team at ‘The Daily Show’ have created an incredible show whose impact is felt all over the world. In my brief time with the show they’ve made me feel so welcome. I’m excited to get started and work with such a fantastic group of people.”

Also on the shortlist to fill the soon-to-be vacant anchor's chair was correspondent Hasan Minhaj.

While the original list of possible replacements was quite long, it quickly got shorter as candidates left to pursue other opportunities. John Oliver and Larry Wilmore, two of the most promising candidates, recently got their own shows, “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” and “The Nightly Show,” respectively. Similarly husband-and-wife duo Jason Jones and Samantha Bee are leaving “The Daily Show” to work for TBS.

Noah’s appointment will add diversity, as well as an international perspective, to the world of talk shows, although it does little to dispel the perception that late night programming is largely a boys club. Correspondent Jessica Williams was a popular candidate among the show's fans, but she claimed that she was “extremely under-qualified” to take over as host.

Noah will most likely take over sometime between July and the end of the year when Stewart leaves.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Trevor Noah announced as new host of 'The Daily Show'
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/TV/2015/0330/Trevor-Noah-announced-as-new-host-of-The-Daily-Show
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe