By Corcoran O’Leary
Recent news has rocked the late night t.v world, news that is perhaps more widely affecting than even Letterman’s departure from The Late Show.
On Feb. 10 The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart announced his plans to part from the show sometime in the next year, and later announced his last show would be Aug. 6, 2015. Many consider Stewart a pivotal part of The Daily Show, taking over as host for Craig Kilborn, the original host, 16 years ago when he managed to revolutionize not just the show, but the role of political satire in pop-culture. Under Stewart The Daily Show became one of the most loved late-night comedy shows to ever grace the airwaves.
The question of who would receive the keys to this extremely powerful dynasty was the subject of immense speculation following the major announcement. People such as Tina Fey, Louis C.K. and even Brian Williams were all names brought up as alleged potential candidates for the spot. However, no one predicted Trevor Noah would get the job, a young South African comedian who had joined the staff of The Daily Show as a correspondent just two months prior, a choice that has polarized the general public.
Optimists claim that Noah can bring a unique vitality to The Daily Show and offer unique commentary on U.S. politics, while skeptics claim his inexperience will hurt the show, a show that has found an indestructible confidence with host Jon Stewart. Adding fuel to the skeptics’ arguments was the resurgence of some old jokes tweeted by Noah, which many perceived to be borderline misogynistic and racist. However, several comedians have spoken in defense of Noah, pointing out the ridiculous digging that had to be done to even get these tweets and the extreme scrutiny he was put under due to years old tweets. Patton Oswalt tweeted in regard to this matter, “Jokes should always entertain. EVERYONE WHO READS THEM.”, before welcoming Trevor Noah to “comedy in 2015”. Noah came to his own defense tweeting, “To reduce my views to a handful of jokes that didn’t land is not a true reflection of my character, nor my evolution as a comedian.”
While the reactions will remain split until the show starts, one must consider the reason Comedy Central has chosen this relatively unknown character to host one of its most popular shows. One big reason Comedy Central made this decision was that Noah has previous hosting experience. In his native South Africa he hosted a popular radio show before touring as a stand-up comedian. However, it is worthy to note that Trevor Noah was most likely cheaper than many of the top-names mentioned before. There is no way to predict how Trevor Noah will host, and the only way to find out is when he takes over during the summer.
