Comedian Trevor Noah set to replace Jon Stewart on 'The Daily Show'

[webfact]

Trevor Noah set to replace Jon Stewart on 'The Daily Show'
By FRAZIER MOORE

NEW YORK (AP) — Trevor Noah, a 31-year-old comedian from South Africa who has contributed to "The Daily Show" a handful of times in recent months, will become Jon Stewart's replacement as host, Comedy Central announced Monday.

Noah was chosen a little more than a month after Stewart unexpectedly announced he was leaving "The Daily Show" following 16 years as the show's principal voice.

New Jersey native Stewart is being replaced by the son of a black South African mother and white European father. Noah has an international presence, and hosted a late-night talk show in South Africa, "Tonight With Trevor Noah."

Noah, who has appeared on Jay Leno and David Letterman, was the subject of a 2011 documentary film by David Paul Meyer, "You Laugh but It's True," which followed his career in post-apartheid South Africa.

He will join Larry Wilmore, a writer-comedian who replaced Stephen Colbert in January in the half-hour slot following "The Daily Show." When Noah takes over, Comedy Central will have completely remade the one-hour comedy block that gave the network critical acclaim and, arguably, its identity.

In an interview, Noah likened himself to Stewart, his soon-to-be-predecessor, as a fellow progressive.

"Obviously where you're from may inform a lot of your decisions. But traveling the world I learned that progressives, regardless of their locations, think in a global space," he said by phone from Dubai, where he is on a comedy tour.

"Although I'm a guy who happens to be not from the same place that Jon's from," he added, "I've lived in America for years before I went back out on the road and I've learned to love the place."

He dismissed the notion that he'll be "taking over" the program.

"I'm joining the team," he said. "I get to be a part of that as the host and a face, sharing that space with my fellow correspondents."

Noah made his debut on "The Daily Show" last December with a segment that poked fun at cliched American images of his native Africa. With a reference to the "hands up" gesture that was a symbol of protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, Noah said, "I never thought I'd be more afraid of police here than in South Africa. It kind of made me nostalgic for the old days back home."

He played a game of "Spot the Africa," contrasting a picture of a gleaming new central African superhighway with a pothole-filled picture of New York's FDR drive he took from his cab ride into Manhattan.

Noah's selection means late-night TV continues to be a male-dominated domain. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were among the comics cited in public polls as favorites for the new role, but there's no indication they were interested or considered.

"We love women," said Michele Ganeless, Comedy Central president. "We talked to women and we talked to men, and we really think we found the best person for the job in Trevor."

Although at the moment he is less than a household name, Ganeless called his selection not so much a risk as an opportunity.

"He was poised to explode here in this country over the next couple of years, and obviously this will accelerate that process," she said. "But people won't come to the show with preconceptions. They will get to discover him, and form their opinions of him, as they watch him host."

Stewart has been a part of the cultural landscape with a bitingly comic look at the news and how it is covered in the media. He has not set a date for his exit from "The Daily Show" and, as a result, Comedy Central said nothing on Monday about when Noah would take over.

Stewart offered his endorsement on Monday.

"I'm thrilled for the show and for Trevor," he said. "He's a tremendous comic and talent that we've loved working with ... In fact, I may rejoin as a correspondent just to be part of it."

In South Africa, the announcement made breaking news on a national television news station. On social media, Noah's name became a trending topic within minutes, with some Twitter users saying he not only represented South Africa, but also the African continent.

South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, congratulated Noah on his appointment.

"This is a big achievement not only for South Africa but the continent," the party said in a statement.

"I'm sure he'll turn it into his own thing," said South African comedian Loyiso Gola, who now also hosts an International Emmy-nominated local news satire show. As comedy grew in South Africa after apartheid, Noah and his fellow comedians began selling out large venues, and soon began touring internationally.

"Out of a lot of guys I know in comedy, he probably works the hardest," said Gola, adding that Noah had spent years honing his stand-up routine.

Noah used his biracial identity to challenge South Africa's race issues, using personal anecdotes from his own life. Growing up biracial in the formerly segregated township of Soweto, Noah once said his birth was a crime.

South Africa's idiosyncrasies, from party politics to the high crime rate, provided regular material.

"It's good for everything South African and it's good for comedy," said Gola.
____

Associated Press writers David Bauder in New York and Lynsey Chutel in Johannesburg contributed to this story.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-03-31

[samran]

In addition to taking over a show with a progressive bent, he's not american.

Going to send the conservatives nuts. I think they hate foreigners commenting on american politics more than they hate liberals.

It's going to be fun to watch.

[Berkshire]

In addition to taking over a show with a progressive bent, he's not american.

Going to send the conservatives nuts. I think they hate foreigners commenting on american politics more than they hate liberals.

It's going to be fun to watch.

The right-wing nutbags hated that show anyways, because Jon Stewart was merciless in cutting to pieces all the GOP crappola. But you're right, Americans don't like foreigners criticizing America. It doesn't matter how right the foreigners may be in any given topic matter. Only Americans are allowed to sh^t on America!

[attrayant]

I hope he can do the Cecil Turtle voice as well as Jon.

[Bwanatickey]

This is all Obama's fault, he had a cabinet reshuffle, and appointed this man for the job.

[Jingthing]

As I've mentioned before, I have deep doubts that Americans are going to really embrace Trevor Noah in his new role.

He will have to show Americans something he hasn't yet shown.

Maybe he has it, maybe he doesn't. I certainly haven't seen "it" yet.

Recent interviews I've seen with him trying to try on the role of American political new Daily Show guy were awkward and flat. Not even funny.

This article explains the challenge:

Impressions and impersonations are by no means unique to Noah’s comedy, but his admission that he has lived as “everyone and no one,” was what allowed him to use his status as an outsider and to serve as South Africa’s comedic, cultural, and political ombudsman. But Noah hasn’t yet approached his role in America the same way. He smiled and laughed through his early American media interviews, but no matter the question, he would steer the answer into one of his stand-up jokes, shepherding new audiences towards true, yet scripted descriptions of his life. This was fine then, since Noah’s primary job at the time was simply to make people laugh, but as he steps into a role that blends politics and comedy, and takes control of a show that 12 percent of Americans say they rely on for news, he’s going to have to provide answers. Noah’s comedic strength is his delivery and his ability to mimic and satirize other viewpoints, but Daily Show viewers will demand he give his own.


Noah’s friend Loyisa Gola, an early comedy partner at The Blues Room and host of the South African show Late Nite News, challenged this assessment. “People like him because he’s hilarious. At the end of the day you have to be super funny, after that we can talk about everything else–at the end of the day I don’t want to entertain these other narratives, and just want to focus on the idea that he’s really, really funny.” Gola is right that Noah’s performances are funny, but that’s not enough to satisfy The Daily Show’saudience, who long ago stopped turning to Jon Stewart for George Bush impressions, and instead looked to him for his opinion on world issues. There’s no doubt Noah is talented and smart, but as he shifts to American late-night, he must prove he’s ready to move past being “everyone and no one,” and be comfortable as “someone.”

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122936/trevor-noah-didnt-come-nowhere

Edited September 27, 2015 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

It's not working out so well.

Stewart should have waited until after this election. He gave Trevor a gift but gave the audience the shaft.

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/cover_story/2016/01/why_america_isn_t_paying_attention_to_the_daily_show_with_trevor_noah_in.2.html

Why Are Americans Ignoring Trevor Noah?

This crazy campaign should be his coming-out party. Instead, it’s our first election since 2000 where The Daily Show might as well not exist.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Jingthing

[arjunadawn]

The guy is an idiot, and not funny. Those two things alone suggest he will fail. He will fail and do so hard. Also, because he is not American and intimately indicts and meddles he burrs activism with entertainment; he will go the route of Piers Morgan. After all, the standards that apply to most countries on earth apply here- "you don't like it? Get the f... out!"

This is the type of certainty one could gamble on. Of course he will crap out. Good too!