According to sources close to the programme, executives will meet with the departing host to pick a date for his departure because negotiations for a replacement won’t start until after he has been duly honoured.
Trevor Noah won’t be on The Daily Show anymore.
Despite industry rumours that the long-running late-night comedy would move to streamer Paramount+ once Noah signs off, sources close to the production told The Hollywood Reporter that it will in fact remain at Comedy Central.
Noah’s news that he will be departing the show after seven years shocked Comedy Central and Paramount executives on Thursday night. According to sources, Chris McCarthy, the Paramount executive in charge of Comedy Central, MTV, and a number of other linear cable networks, as well as staff members with the programme and higher-ups at the conglomerate, were unaware of Noah’s intentions to leave The Daily Show until he made them public. Additionally, McCarthy had lunch with Noah on Wednesday to discuss his future on the late-night programme, but the host made no mention of McCarthy’s departure the following day.
Thursday night, nearly seven years to the day after he took over for Jon Stewart, Noah informed viewers, “I feel like it’s time. When I returned to the road after spending the first two years of the pandemic in my apartment rather than travelling, I discovered that there is another aspect of my life that I want to continue investigating. I miss expanding my linguistic horizons, performing in foreign nations, travelling the world, and doing everything.
In June, Noah renewed his option to serve as the show’s host for an additional two years. He also had a contract option for a further year, which would have carried him through the 2024–2025 season, according to sources. The Daily Show and everyone at Paramount were therefore surprised even more by Noah’s decision to depart.
The beginning of those negotiations is anticipated to happen this week, according to insiders, therefore the schedule of Noah’s farewell episodes has not yet been decided. McCarthy and executives from the Paramount-owned Comedy Central will start debating who would succeed Noah as host of The Daily Show after Noah’s decision to leave The Daily Show has been made.
“When The Daily Show’s next chapter is written, all of our outstanding reporters will be at the top of the list. Until then, our main priorities are honouring Trevor and expressing our gratitude for all of his achievements, a Comedy Central representative told THR in a statement.
Considerable Daily Show correspondents already work for Comedy Central, including Desi Lydic, Roy Wood Jr., Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta, and Dulcé Sloan.
As THR reported on Friday, Noah is ready to spend more time touring, where he is among the exclusive group of comedians who can sell out enormous venues, as well as engaging in activities like podcasting, writing a new book, acting, and enhancing his production work. With several projects in the works for his Day Zero production firm, Noah is still under contract with Paramount. He has been mostly prohibited from getting more involved with them due to his commitment to filming The Daily Show.
