Trevor Noah Leaving ‘The Daily Show’: Source

Trevor Noah, who began on The Daily Show as a recurring contributor in 2014 and was elevated to host, taking over from Jon Stewart in 2015, is leaving the series, a source tells Decider.

The news was announced earlier tonight to his audience, and came as a surprise to staff. The announcement will air in tonight’s episode, which will be broadcast on Comedy Central at 11pm ET. The news was later confirmed by Variety, who obtained a statement from the network:

“We are grateful to Trevor for our amazing partnership over the past seven years.  With no timetable for his departure, we’re working together on next steps. As we look ahead, we’re excited for the next chapter in the 25+ year history of The Daily Show as it continues to redefine culture through sharp and hilarious social commentary, helping audiences make sense of the world around them.”

The official Daily Show Twitter account posted the segment announcing his departure:

In the segment, Noah recalls the “crazy bet” that led to him being hired as the host of the show. “What a journey it’s been,” Noah says. “I realized after the seven years, my time is up. Yeah. But in the most beautiful way. Honestly. I’ve loved hosting this show. It’s been one of my greatest challenges. One of my greatest joys. I’ve loved trying to figure out how to make people laugh particularly when the stories are shitty on the worst days.

“We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together. But after seven years, I feel like it’s time, you know? I spent two years in my apartment, not on the road, stand-up was dead. And when I got back out there again, I realized there’s another part of my life I wanted to carry on exploring. I miss learning other languages, I miss going to other countries, I miss putting on shows…”

The statement continues, with Noah joking, “I’m not disappearing, don’t worry. If I owe you money, I’ll pay you.”

Initially, the South African comic was seen as a controversial choice for hosting the show, particularly when old tweets resurfaced that seemed to be potentially anti-semitic. Other old routines surfaced that spurred further controversy thanks to derogatory jokes made about Aboriginal women. On top of that (and perhaps less controversially), Noah brought a different vibe to the proceedings than Stewart, who was lauded for not only bringing comedy to news, but — often to his chagrin — news to comedy fans.

In response to the change, ratings on the former powerhouse dropped precipitously, and the relevance of the once omnipresent Daily Show seemed to fade. However, over time, and particularly during the pandemic, Noah began to form his own point of view, and became a trusted voice in his own right — perhaps less with comedy, and more with biting, pointed takes that took the form of video op-eds.

Noah also helped spin off The Daily Show with The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, featuring long-time corespondent and collaborator Jordan Klepper. In addition to The Daily Show, Noah has hosted the Grammys twice, and the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2022.

He’s also reportedly dating Dua Lipa, but that doesn’t seem very relevant to this story.

With Noah’s contract with Comedy Central ending this year, it looks like his time in the storied desk is over. What Noah will do next, and who will pick up the baton that has traveled from Craig Kilborn, to Jon Stewart to Noah is TBD. In fact, it’s up in the air (without further word from Comedy Central) whether the show will continue at all — though it’s fair to say that with more than 3,662 episodes and over 26 years on the air, chances are the Paramount-owned network will want to keep it going in some form, as noted in the statement above.

Decider has reached out to Comedy Central and Paramount for additional comment, though they did not respond by press time.