Jon Stewart may have left big shoes to fill when he left “The Daily Show,” but Trevor Noah took those shoes, threw them out and made his own mark on the highly-respected Comedy Central late-night series.
In a shocking on-air announcement September 29 that even his crew and execs reportedly didn’t know was coming, Noah revealed that after seven years, he’s ready to leave out his own shoes for someone to fill. Now, It turns out that will be happening even sooner than expected.
According to Paramount Global, Noah’s final episode has been set for Thursday, December 8 (“The Daily Show” does not film regular Friday episodes). Further, that last week will be a retrospective of his time on the show.
“Trevor is an incredible talent who has left an indelible mark on ‘The Daily Show’ and we’re grateful for his creative partnership over the past seven years,” said Chris McCarthy, President and CEO of Paramount Media Networks and MTV Entertainment Studios.
Noah returned the praise, calling McCarthy “an amazing leader and partner who has helped me realize my dream of working not just in front of the camera, but also behind the scenes, producing content which now airs across the Paramount family. I’m truly excited to see what the future holds.”
The longtime staple of Comedy Central has gone through host evolutions before, with Jon Stewart transforming it into a political series when he took over for Craig Kilborn, and then Noah making it even more passionately issues focused under his tenure.
Now, the network has made it clear, that they’re prepared to do it all over again, and they’re not giving them much time to figure it out — unless they plan to figure it out on the fly, and on the air.
“The Daily Show” will return to the air with new episodes beginning Tuesday, January 17. The announcement of Noah’s final date calls it another “reinvention” of the series.
The big question looming over the show now is who will host? Will they tap into their current pool of talent, looking at correspondents like Roy Wood Jr., Jordan Klepper, Ronny Chieng or Desi Lydic, or could they pull in someone new to the franchise like they did with Noah?
For now, Noah and his team can prep for the upcoming mid-term elections next month and then look ahead to … well, whatever’s next.
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