When Jon Stewart announced his departure from Comedy Central’s The Daily Show earlier this year, many longtime fans of the satirical news show wondered how it would be able to bounce back. Stewart’s unique brand of quirky comedy is one of the show’s key driving forces. But like all good things. his tenure will soon come to an end. While Stewart has no fixed departure date, his reign is expected to end sometime this year. And in light of today’s news, the network didn’t have to look far to find his replacement.
Trevor Noah, who made his debut on the show back in December 2014, has been officially announced as Stewart’s successor. The stand-up comedian first began acting in his hometown of Johannesburg, South Africa before making the leap to the US. He went on to score segments on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and Late Night With David Letterman. In the latter part of 2014, Noah appeared on The Daily Show thrice, spearheading its Spot The Africa segment that wowed network brass so much so that they offered him Stewart’s vacated chair.
The comic took to Twitter to relay his excited reaction:
No-one can replace Jon Stewart. But together with the amazing team at The Daily Show, we will continue to make this the best damn news show!
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) March 30, 2015
Jon Stewart remained on top form when responding to Noah’s placement:
“I’m thrilled for the show and for Trevor,” he said. “He’s a tremendous comic and talent that we’ve loved working with. In fact, I may rejoin as a correspondent just to be a part of it!!!”
In addition, Comedy Central head Michele Ganeless offered a similarly enthusiastic comment:
“Trevor Noah is an enormous talent. He has an insightful and unique point of view, and most importantly, is wickedly funny. For the next host of ‘The Daily Show,’ we set out to find a fresh voice who can speak to our audience with a keen take on the events of the day, and we found that in Trevor. He has a huge international following and is poised to explode here in America, and we are thrilled to have him join Comedy Central.”
This is fantastic news for fans of The Daily Show and of course, for Noah’s burgeoning community of followers. As yet there’s no confirmed date for when we’ll first see him tackle the leading duties of the landmark show, but we’ll keep you posted. Until then, let us know what you think of Trevor Noah’s appointment in the comments below!
