Now that Jon Stewart has officially confirmed his eventual exit as the longtime host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, a new face has been confirmed to fill the vacated seat, Trevor Noah.
Noah, a 31-year-old comedian from South Africa, joined the show back in December and he has now been confirmed to take over as its host after only three appearances on the program, according to The New York Times. The Times further notes that a date has not been confirmed just yet for when Stewart will leave the show. Stewart announced he’d be leaving the show back in February.
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“You don’t believe it for the first few hours,” Noah joked, speaking to the Times about the new gig from Dubai where is on a comedy tour. “You need a stiff drink, and then unfortunately you’re in a place where you can’t really get alcohol.”
Stewart also released a statement about the news. “I’m thrilled for the show and for Trevor,” he said. “He’s a tremendous comic and talent that we’ve loved working with.” He added he “may rejoin as a correspondent just to be a part of it!!!”
A network executive also spoke about their decision to hire Noah over other candidates. “We talked to women. We talked to men,” Michele Ganeless, the Comedy Central president, said. “We found in Trevor the best person for the job.”