How ‘The Daily Show’ Can Shake Up Late Night After Trevor Noah

Many fans are wondering who will be the next host of The Daily Show after Trevor Noah — he announced in September that he’d be leaving after seven years in the anchor chair. His final appearance will be December 8, before the show takes a winter hiatus. Comedy Central has not named any names, but the network is reportedly considering one or more hosts to replace him.

The decision on a new host is not only important for the network but it’s also a chance to push more diversity in late night.

When Noah was tapped to take over the show from Jon Stewart in 2015, he was a relative unknown in American television. He mainly made appearances on South African TV shows, and stand-up performances on American late-night TV after relocating to the U.S. in 2011.

Comedy Central again has the opportunity to give a new comedian their big break just like it did for Noah seven years ago. It would be a great way to re-revolutionize one of the most iconic brands in late night TV. Though Noah was not the first person of color nor the first foreign-born host of a late night show, he was – and still is – one name on a short list.

Diversity in late night comedy has been an issue for years. Nearly all of the major late night comedy shows are hosted by white men. With Noah stepping down, Amber Ruffin and the Peacock streaming show, The Amber Ruffin Show and Showtime’s Ziwe hosted by Ziwe Fumudoh are the rare late night comedy shows that are hosted by women and people of color.

Many late night shows that featured diverse hosts have recently gone off the air. A Little Late with Lilly Singh ended in 2021 after premiering in September 2019. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and Desus & Mero both ended in 2022. The NetflixNFLX
-produced Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj ended in 2020.

With the end of these shows and the departure of Noah, late night is looking less diverse. And Noah was the only one to have taken over an existing show, instead of launching a new program.

Even if the show does not choose a diverse voice as the new host, the shake-up might allow for more voices behind the scenes. The Daily Show co-creators Madeleine Smithberg and Lizz Winstead were the last women to hold the head writer position in 1997, and few writers of color have taken the reins.

New late night programs come and go, but legacy late night programs usually do not. The hosts change, but the program keeps its spot. For example, Daily Show spin-offs such as The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, The Colbert Report and The Opposition with Jordan Klepper have ended, but The Daily Show keeps going.

The Daily Show has a chance to make history by handing over a legacy brand to a woman, and it would not be out of character since the show made history when it handed over a legacy brand to a person of color, Noah. Choosing a woman of color or another diverse voice would be as important today as it was in 2015.