South African comedian Trevor Noah will become the new host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, stepping into the role Jon Stewart has filled for 16 years.
Confirming reports of his new job Monday morning, Noah tweeted, “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!”
Comedy Central says that the switch will happen later this year. When Stewart announced his departure from the show last month, he did not name a final day. He said it could come as early as July, or as late as this fall or winter.
Noah, 31, has recently served as a senior international correspondent on The Daily Show, filing reports on events such as Islamist group Boko Haram’s violent attacks in Nigeria.
Comedy Central President Michele Ganeless says that Noah “has a huge international following and is poised to explode here in America.”
In an interview with NPR’s Code Switch blog earlier this year, Noah said, “What I’ve always said about comedy is if you do it in the right way, you can say anything to anybody because they know where you’re coming from.” He added, “They know it’s not malicious.”
In that interview, Noah also discussed how his family helped his sense of humor:
“I think I may have become a comedian because I still got it from my family. My mother is extremely funny, my grandfather was the funniest in the family so it was something that’s been in the family on my mother’s side. … My father’s Swiss so humor doesn’t play too well on his side. Everything is matter-of-fact and there’s chocolate involved. But when it comes to my mother’s side of the family, that was really the one currency we had was laughter. … Your laughter takes you through everything.”
Comedy Central says:
“Noah joined The Daily Show in 2014 as a contributor. He made his U.S. television debut in 2012 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and has also appeared on Late Show with David Letterman, becoming the first South African stand-up comedian to appear on either late night show. Noah has hosted numerous television shows including his own late night talk show in his native country, Tonight with Trevor Noah.”
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