Trevor Noah, South African comedian who took on storage reins of “The Daily Show” after the departure of Jon stewart seven years ago, announced on Thursday that he was leaving the show.
“We laughed together, we cried together,” said Mr. Noah record of the show on Thursday was released before the show aired. “But after seven years, I feel the time has come.”
Comedy Central said in a statement that the network worked with Mr. Noah “for a long time to figure out how he was able to maintain his demanding schedule.”
The network added that “there is no timetable for his departure, we are working together on the next steps.”
Noah, 38, said on Thursday that after hosting the show for seven tumultuous years – writing jokes about Donald J. Trump’s presidency, the pandemic and major news events other – he realized that there was “another part of my life that I wanted to keep exploring. ” He said he missed the tour, went to other countries, learned other languages and was “everywhere, doing everything.”
Mr. Noah did not elaborate, but he has continued to tour and release specials throughout his time as host.
Comedy Central says it’s “exciting for the next chapter” of “Daily Program” but it doesn’t say who will be the host next.
Mr. Noah’s announcement will come in the wake of several late-night hosts: In April, James Corden said he would be leaving his nightly 12:30 a.m. show on CBS next year. Samantha Bee, an alumnus of “The Daily Show,” has announced that her show will not return to TBS in the fall. And last year, Conan O’Brien said goodbye to the late-night show on TBS.
Mr Noah thanked the network on Thursday for trusting “in a random comedian no one knows on this side of the world”.
When Stewart left the show in 2015, after 16 years turning the satirical show into an award-winning political comedy, fans eagerly awaited an answer to the question of who would succeed one of the cast. host of television’s most influential and revolutionary program.
The announcement came as a surprise to many: Mr. Noah, a newcomer to American television who had been scouted by Mr. Stewart and his “Daily Show” staff, received a huge and unexpected promotion. after only three appearances on the show. (Network has come close more famous stars like Chris Rock, Amy Poehler, and Amy Schumer.)
The decision to name a 31-year-old racial comic from South Africa was meant to bring a younger, international perspective to “The Daily Show”.
In one Interview with The New York Times after the announcement, Mr. Noah talked about being part of “a new generation of young comedians of color, in a space where our parents didn’t have a recognized voice.”
But shortly after the announcement, Mr. Noah was drawn into a argumentative about jokes he had posted years earlier on Twitter about women and Jews that some considered offensive. Mr. Noah responded to criticism at the time, saying that “reducing my point of view to some pointless joke is not a true reflection of my personality, nor my progress. my character as a comedian.”
The net is behind him. Before long, the version of “The Daily Show” by Mr. Noah is up and running, with reporters from a variety of backgrounds bringing something new to the show.
He joked with Time in 2015, since joining the show, “blackness has increased a lot at the show. There has been an epidemic of bad luck. And he recalls the advice Mr. Stewart gave before starting his new role: “Do the best you feel you have to. And trust your discomfort.”
During his tenure, Noah embraced an outsider’s perspective, commenting on America’s struggles with race, class, and other aspects of society that he considered absurd, if not absurd. I mean, it’s ripe for humor.
In 2020, he dedicated the entire segment to the Black Lives Matter movement and those who protest police brutality against Black people, saying in a video It feels like there’s “no time for justice”.
He recalled on Thursday that he had never dreamed of becoming a presenter.
“I felt like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” he said. “I came to see what the previous show was like. And the next thing I know, I’ve been given the keys. “
Mr. Noah has since shown his serious side. In 2016, he published his autobiography, “Born a Crime: Stories from Childhood in South Africa”, a rough chronicle of his upbringing in South Africa during and after. racist regime.
The son of an Xhosa mother and a German-Swiss father, Noah recalls in his book how “half white, half black” in a country where he was born “viciously” violate any laws, statutes and regulations”.
In May, he perform at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, for the first time in a pandemic, teased President Biden before pausing to comment on having the freedom to do so.
“I stood here tonight and I mocked the president of the United States, and I will be fine. I’ll be fine, won’t I? ‘ he said, glancing at Mr. Biden. “Like, do you really understand that’s a blessing?”
In 2023, Mr. Noah will tour South Africa. He wrote on Twitter This week: “Can’t wait to go home.”
