Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Trevor Noah to Replace Jon Stewart as ‘Daily Show’ Host

Getty Images

(Reuters) — Comedy Central said on Monday it has chosen South African comedian Trevor Noah, a relative newcomer to U.S. television, to replace Jon Stewart on its parody newscast, “The Daily Show.”

In a statement, Viacom Inc-owned Comedy Central said it would announce the launch date for the new show later.

“Trevor Noah is an enormous talent. He has an insightful and unique point of view, and most importantly, is wickedly funny,” Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless said in the statement.

Stewart, 52, who has starred on the satirical show since 1999, announced last month that he was leaving his job, but gave no specific plans for his next career move.

His successor, a 31-year-old biracial South African, in December made his first appearance on “The Daily Show,” which airs weeknights at 11 p.m. on Comedy Central. Altogether, he has appeared as a “senior international correspondent” on the program three times.

“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!” Noah said in a post on Twitter.

Stewart, also on Twitter, said: “Very excited to welcome our next host: @Trevornoah! That’s right – another guy in late night from Soweto.”

In choosing Noah, the comedy network said it was looking for “a fresh voice who can speak to our audience with a keen take on the events of the day, and we found that in Trevor.

“He has a huge international following and is poised to explode here in America, and we are thrilled to have him join Comedy Central,” Ganeless added.

Trevor has hosted his own late night talk show in his native South Africa, according to the network.

Noah, born of a South African mother and Swiss father, grew up in Johannesburg’s Soweto township. For much of his childhood, his African family passed him off as an albino. Under apartheid laws, different races could not mix and he could not live with either his parents.

News of his new U.S. role quickly spread in his home country, leading South African news reports.

Comedy Central told the New York Times, which first reported the move, that the exact time for Stewart’s departure has not been decided.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.