After seven years hosting The Daily Show through a period of both political unrest and an upending of the TV industry, Trevor Noah has announced he intends to leave the satiric program. Noah explained the decision in a video posted to the Daily Show’s social media, saying it was a conversation with writer and correspondent Roy Wood, Jr. that made him take stock of his lengthy tenure hosting the program.
“It’s been absolutely amazing, it’s something I never expected. I found myself thinking about the time–everything we’ve gone through, the Trump presidency, the pandemic, the journey of…more pandemic,” he said. “And I realized that after seven years, my time is up, but in the most beautiful way, honestly. I’ve loved hosting the show, it’s been one of my greatest challenges, it’s been one of my greatest joys.”
Noah said that his choice was partly spurred by wanting to to travel more to do live comedy, particularly after hosting the show from his New York apartment during COVID-19 quarantine. “I spent two years in my apartment not on the road, standup was done, and when I got back out there again, I realized there was another part of my life that I wanted to carry on exploring. I miss learning other languages, I miss going to other countries and putting on shows,” he said.
Noah was named Jon Stewart’s surprise successor in December 2014, just a few months after joining the show as a contributor, and he officially took over the anchor desk September 28, 2015. At the time, the then-31-year-old South African comic was not a recognizable name stateside, and many were stunned that Comedy Central did not go with a bigger domestic star to head up its flagship show. (The New York Times reported that the network approached Chris Rock, Amy Poehler and Amy Schumer before offering the gig to Noah.) Since taking over, Noah has become a fixture in American popular culture, winning a Primetime Emmy, hosting the Grammy Awards and the White House Correspondents Dinner, and writing a best-selling autobiographical book.
In his GQ cover story interview from November 2020, Noah spoke candidly about living with depression and anxiety, and how the intensely structured routine of hosting The Daily Show was helpful for navigating those issues. He also spoke about how maintaining your mental health as a touring comic can be difficult. “When you’re a stand-up comedian, you don’t even realize the signs of depression because you don’t have a 9-to-5. So some days you wake up at 4 p.m. and you sleep the whole day, some days you can’t sleep until 4 a.m., and you think this is just the life of a comedian,” he said. “And then you realize that it’s not normal—it has control over you.”
Noah’s approach to interviewing, which involved having measured conversations with subjects who held conflicting viewpoints, such as Tomi Lahren, stood out during an era when political news became more fractionalized, and about affirming the beliefs of your target demographic. He also gave the show an international focus that added new depth and dimensionality to its coverage.
“What I’ve learned in America is people don’t like the complexity and the messiness of nuance,” Noah told GQ. “What I’m doing on the show is I’m just gonna speak my truth and appeal to fellow human beings and say, ‘Yo, man. A lot of things that we’re gonna deal with in the world are messy and complicated.’”
In his resignation announcement, Noah clarified that he would not be departing immediately, and Comedy Central told The New York Times that there was “no timetable for his departure” yet. The Times also noted that his decision to leave comes during a stretch of significant shake-ups in late-night television, with James Corden leaving The Late Late Show and Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal not returning to air this season. A search for a new host comes at a complicated time for the cable network: With cable subscriptions (and ratings) continuing to plummet, the role of these sorts of programs feels tenuous, with many pulling in much of their viewership through social media posts and YouTube segments.
Noah’s next project is the docuseries The Tipping Point, which focuses on topics like voter suppression, political polarization, and tensions around immigration. He also has a run of shows in South Africa booked for next year and a rumored relationship with pop star Dua Lipa—which has spurred many Daily Show retirement jokes on Twitter—to keep him occupied once he leaves the host’s chair.