‘Daily Show’ Rumors: Trevor Noah To Replace Jon Stewart As Host?
Daily Show rumors indicate that Trevor Noah might take over for Jon Stewart as the new host. Though Noah is new to The Daily Show on Comedy Central, Variety has reported that he is emerging as one of the favorites on the short list. While it is clear that the network wants to keep the ultimate decision under wraps, Variety editor Brian Steinberg has relayed a belief that the network could indeed stay in-house with this move. That information reportedly came from someone with direct knowledge on the matter.
“There is no guarantee that Noah will inherit Stewart’s seat, and no final decision has been reached, this person cautioned. Comedy Central’s selection process has accelerated in recent days, this person said. And Noah, a South African comedian, has moved to a short list being put together by executives at the Viacom-owned cable outlet.”
There have been Daily Show rumors floating around since the day that Jon Stewart announced he would be walking away from the show. The internal search likely began immediately, but with a lot of time to work with, no official announcements have been made. As previously revealed on the Inquisitr, Stewart made his intentions public back in February and will leave the program sometime between July and the end of 2015. Leaving his final end date open allows The Daily Show and Comedy Central a lot of time to figure out the next move.
There had been other Daily Show rumors about contributors that could take over, but John Oliver, Samantha Bee, and Jessica Williams have all moved on to other projects. They could possibly still have a presence on the new version of the show in the future, but they won’t be tabbed to take over as host. This could be why a lesser-known candidate like Trevor Noah could be rising to the top of the potential replacement lists.
Noah is best known for his standup comedy and has appeared on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and the Late Show With David Letterman in the past. His bio on IMDB isn’t flush with acting credits, but viewers of The Daily Show have certainly seen what he can do as a correspondent over the past year. It’s important for the network to find the right person, though, because the new host will serve as a lead in for The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore that takes over the 11:30 p.m. slot Stephen Colbert had held.
There is still a lot of time before Jon Stewart walks away from the show he took over from Craig Kilborn, so an official announcement about Trevor Noah isn’t imminent. That could lead to additional Daily Show rumors in the coming months, with Comedy Central likely hoping that it simply keeps the network and the show being discussed on social media, no matter who is the next host.
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