Trevor Noah Leaves ‘The Daily Show’

On Thursday, September 29, The Daily Show host Trevor Noah announced he is leaving the show after seven years with the program.
“We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together,” Noah said during Thursday’s taping of the show that was released before the show aired. “But after seven years, I feel like it’s time.”
Trevor Noah made his first appearance as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s satirical television news program The Daily Show  with Jon Stewart in 2014, and in just the year after, Stewart announced his departure, and Comedy Central announced Noah as his replacement. After revolutionizing the show into its popular format of sharp political commentary and critique of traditional media, Stewart’s historical 16 years as host left the formidable task of being his successor to Trevor Noah. Unfamiliar to American audiences, the then 31-year-old South African comedian was met with backlash and disapproval by many online, but later transformed the show into his own, attracting a wide range of viewers and lifting approval ratings.
During his time hosting The Daily Show, Noah has made several accomplishments, including publishing his autobiography Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood in 2016, writing about his upbringing in South Africa during and after apartheid, hosting the 2022 Grammy Awards, and speaking at the 2022 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, cracking jokes in front of the president and America’s top politicians and journalists in Washington DC. As host, he has also faced the challenge of covering crucial moments in American history, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the 2021 Capitol insurrection. Additionally, throughout all this, Noah has managed to establish his own brand on The Daily Show by increasing the racial diversity and representation of those working in the studio, embracing his outsider perspective when deeply exploring issues affecting people of color in America, and famously going viral for his critiques on the Trump administration.
“I’ve loved hosting this show,” Noah said to his audience on Thursday. “It’s been one of my greatest challenges, [and] it’s been one of my greatest joys.” He further elaborated on his announcement of leaving that during the pandemic, he spent two years in his apartment without doing stand-up and traveling for shows, and “…when I got back out there again, I realized that there’s another part of my life that I want to carry on exploring,” he shared. “I miss learning other languages, I miss going to other countries and putting on shows.”
Following Noah’s announcement, Comedy Central said in a statement that “with no timetable for his departure, we’re working together on next steps” and that they are excited for this new, upcoming chapter with the news of the show’s next host still unknown.