As was rumored last week, Daily Show contributor Trevor Noah will be replacing Jon Stewart as host of the show.
The New York Times first reported the official change. On Friday, Variety noted that Noah, who is not particularly well-known in the U.S., was “on the short-list” of Stewart replacements. Noah has only been on the show a handful of times, though he’s made an impression when he’s shown up.
“You don’t believe it for the first few hours,” 31-year-old Noah told the Times of getting his new job. “You need a stiff drink, and then unfortunately you’re in a place where you can’t really get alcohol.” (He’s currently on a comedy tour in Dubai.)
“I’m thrilled for the show and for Trevor,” Mr. Stewart said in a statement. “He’s a tremendous comic and talent that we’ve loved working with.” Mr. Stewart added that he “may rejoin as a correspondent just to be a part of it!!!”
Comedy Central also addressed the potential blowback of missing the opportunity to hire a woman to host what’s arguably their most popular program:
Michele Ganeless, the Comedy Central president, said in an interview: “We talked to women. We talked to men. We found in Trevor the best person for the job.”
No matter who’s heading it, Noah knows what huge shoes he has to fill: while Stewart was not particularly well-known when he started hosting the show in 1999, its success with him at the helm has propelled him to a new level of stardom. As for Comedy Central, its clearly a new dawn for them as well: they’ve lost three of their biggest names in a year (Stewart, Stephen Colbert and John Oliver) and are still trying to get a handle on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. But change is good, right?
Image via Trevor Noah/Facebook
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