Trevor Noah, who began on The Daily Show as a recurring contributor in 2014 and was elevated to host, taking over from Jon Stewart in 2015, is leaving the series, a source tells Decider.
The news was reportedly announced earlier tonight to his audience, and came as a surprise to staff. The announcement will most likely air in tonight’s episode, which will be broadcast on Comedy Central at 11pm ET. Decider reached out to Comedy Central, and their parent company Paramount, who did not immediately respond for comment.
Initially, the South African comic was seen as a controversial choice for hosting the show, particularly when old tweets resurfaced that seemed to be potentially anti-semitic. Other old routines surfaced that spurred further controversy thanks to derogatory jokes made about Aboriginal women. On top of that (and perhaps less controversially), Noah brought a different vibe to the proceedings than Stewart, who was lauded for not only bringing comedy to news, but — often to his chagrin — news to comedy fans.
In response to the change, ratings on the former powerhouse dropped precipitously, and the relevance of the once omnipresent Daily Show seemed to fade. However, over time, and particularly during the pandemic, Noah began to form his own point of view, and became a trusted voice in his own right — perhaps less with comedy, and more with biting, pointed takes that took the form of video op-eds.
Noah also helped spin off The Daily Show with The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, featuring long-time corespondent and collaborator Jordan Klepper. In addition to The Daily Show, Noah has hosted the Grammys twice, and the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2022.
He’s also reportedly dating Dua Lipa, but that doesn’t seem very relevant to this story.
With Noah’s contract with Comedy Central ending this year, it looks like his time in the storied desk is over. What Noah will do next, and who will pick up the baton that has traveled from Craig Kilborn, to Jon Stewart to Noah is TBD. In fact, it’s up in the air (without further word from Comedy Centra) whether the show will continue at all — though it’s fair to say that with more than 3,662 episodes and over 26 years on the air, chances are the Paramount-owned network will want to keep it going in some form.
We’ll update this story with more info when it’s provided.
