Seven years ago, Jon Stewart left The Daily Show and selected Trevor Noah, who had appeared on the Comedy Central series a few times, as his successor. Now the time has come for Trevor to depart The Daily Show, with the big news being announced at the end of September. So naturally many people are wondering who will become the satirical news program’s new host, and there may be an unusual plan in the works to fill the void left by Noah.
Trevor Noah will make his Daily Show appearance on Thursday, December 8, and the series will go on hiatus until Tuesday, January 17, 2023. Upon its return, three sources who spoke to Variety claimed that Comedy Central is thinking about “utilizing a rotating array of hosts” for the The Daily Show. This is just one of the options that’s currently under consideration, and it’s unclear when plans will be finalized one way or the other.
Going through multiple hosts would certainly be a big way to deliver the “reinvention” that’s been promised for The Daily Show following Trevor Noah’s exit. Sure, there have been instances where guest hosts have filled in on a temporary basis, such as when John Oliver sat behind the desk when Jon Stewart was shooting Rosewater, but that’s a different beast from a a handful of people filling a position that’s otherwise unoccupied. The Late Late Show did something similar in the transition periods between Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson, and then in the few months between Ferguson’s departure and James Corden’s arrival (although in that latter case, Corden was already slated to take over).
This potential move for The Daily Show also calls to mind what’s being done with Jeopardy! these days, as Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik are serving as rotating hosts of the main show, and Bialik additionally hosts primetime specials and spinoffs. However, in The Daily Show’s case, it’s unclear if it would only rotate through hosts on a temporary basis like what The Late Late Show has done (and may be doing again since James Corden is leaving the CBS program in summer 2023), or if this is meant to be a permanent move, at least for the near future.
Either way, as already mentioned, don’t count on The Daily Show rotating through hosts as being a done deal just yet. It’s also been reported that Roy Wood Jr. is being considered for the job after being a correspondent since Trevor Noah started hosting in 2015. One thing that has become clear is Noah’s departure reportedly ruffled some feathers behind the scenes, resulting in the Comedy Central brass having to scramble to figure out the next move rather than being a lengthy period to prepare for a changing of the guard.
As for Trevor Noah, once he’s done with The Daily Show, he intends to perform more stand-up comedy around the world and spend more time with his family in South Africa. We’ll be sure to let you know when a concrete hosting replacement plan for The Daily Show is announced, but until then, keep track of the rest of this year’s programming with our 2022 TV schedule.
