When Trevor Noah announced last September that he was leaving The Daily Show, it sent shock waves through late night. After all, Noah was just 38 years old and had only been The Daily Show host for seven years. Even though producers had many months to prepare for his eventual exit, there was no quick move to name a successor, as The Daily Show had done when naming Noah to take over for the great Jon Stewart. Instead, a series of guest hosts were announced, including a name from the show's past, Hasan Minhaj. After his one week as guest host, it's safe to say that he's the perfect choice to sit behind the desk permanently.
Following Noah's goodbye, Leslie Jones was the first to have the difficult task of being the temporary voice for a show that means so much to so many. She knocked it out of the park, though, and was followed by other big comedy names such as Wanda Sykes, Sarah Silverman, and Marlon Wayans. All were great in their own way, but one name set himself apart.
Hasan Minhaj Is a Former 'Daily Show' Correspondent
Minhaj has stood out from the rest of the pack due to the simple fact that he's been here before. He has the distinction of being the last Daily Show correspondent ever hired by Stewart, starting for the show in November 2014. In his week as guest host, Minhaj played his Daily Show audition tape for viewers. It's easy to see how he got the gig. Even then, despite his lack of experience and what had to be considerable nervousness, he was on fire, not just with his prepared script, but the rapid way he would wing it with his own off-the-cuff wit not found on a teleprompter. His audition had Stewart and the crew in stitches. It was apparent that not only was Minhaj funny, but he had the ability to think on his feet and adapt to a segment on the fly.
For four years, Minhaj showed this skill several times a week, first with Stewart, and then seamlessly, with Trevor Noah. His accomplishments on the show earned him a shot at hosting the prestigious White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2017 and his own Netflix standup special, Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King. The special was so popular that the next year Netflix offered Minhaj his own show, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. For two years, in a Daily Show or Last Week Tonight-like setting, he covered the news of the world with his own opinionated spin.
When the show came to an end in 2020 due to the pandemic, Minhaj kept busy with a role on the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show, and another Netflix special, The King's Jester, but audiences missed seeing him on screens so often with his smart, high energy sense of humor. If Trevor Noah had to leave us, then it's the right time for Minhaj, whose turn back on the show he was such a big part of has felt like an audition rather than a fun guest spot.
In His Week as 'The Daily Show' Guest Host, Hasan Minhaj Was on Fire
Right away, from his very first segment, Minhaj made an impact, leaving fans in the comment sections of YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook clamoring for him to be the new permanent host. There was no awkwardness or struggle on his end. He went straight for it, as if he knew this was his moment. He seemed to be a little too amped-up on night one, but outside of that, which he quickly got under control, he looked like a guy who had been doing this for years. That's because he has. His Daily Show correspondent role and his hosting gig on his own show left him perfectly prepared to grab the spotlight with no fear.
Minhaj oozed confidence that bordered on cockiness at times without going overboard, as he went after Fox News, election deniers, and the response to the East Palestine, Ohio accident. You could almost see him licking his chops at the opportunity to take down everything absurd in our world. He was especially in his element in his segments where he annihilated crypto and a more than thirty-minute long sparring session with Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary. His fire and passion were a direct reminder to Jon Stewart, especially during the Bush years, when Stewart had become the most popular and trusted name in news. Minhaj was a loud, charismatic, sure voice unafraid of speaking the truth. He wasn't a guy just reading from a teleprompter, but a host who felt in his bones everything he was saying. Just as important, he knew his facts. He didn't simply have an opinion, but a place of knowledge with which to back it up.
It wasn't just the political segments where Minhaj excelled. He was just as great in less important bits that he made equally funny, such as when he had on NBA great Giannis Antetokounmpo. During his interview, he had the Milwaukee Bucks star reading lines trash-talking his competitors. What made it great was how Antetokounmpo, who is famously one of the nicest guys in the league, struggled to be mean while profusely apologizing at the same time. All the while, Minhaj egged him on. It was a simple segment played for laughs, but when it went viral a few talking heads like Skip Bayless attacked Antetokounmpo for his comments, even though he surely knew it had been a joke. Minhaj was there waiting the next night to take down both Bayless and our fake anger fueled sports media.
Hasan Minhaj Is the Best of Jon Stewart and Trevor Noah
That taps into another essential trait Minhaj has. At just 37, Minhaj is a TV veteran, but he's still young and hip. He not only knows the finer intricacies of American politics, but he has layered opinions on pop culture too. While Stewart was known for his fire, Noah was loved for his down-to-earth charm and his ability to connect with a younger demographic. Hasan Minhaj is the best of Stewart and Noah, a man filled with passion and a desire for change like Stewart, but also that easy coolness Noah pulled off.
Just like Noah, Minhaj brings a more cultural flavor to The Daily Show. Jon Stewart was a legend, but he was also another in a long list of white guy late-night hosts. Noah switched that up, while also bringing in his outsider viewpoint, as he was born in and spent much of his life in South Africa. Minhaj was not born abroad, but in California. However, his parents are both Indian Muslim immigrants. He grew up not only with the ways of the west but of a culture and religion that many of us can't fully relate to. He can bring another perspective to the chaos, one influenced by the ways of parents from halfway around the world. There again, Minhaj becomes the perfect meld of Stewart and Noah, someone familiar but also different in the most fascinating of ways.
The Daily Show guest hosts are scheduled to keep going for a while longer, but when they're done, the show's producers are going to have a decision to make. Do they pick someone safe, a known name with lots of experience as Jon Stewart had coming in, or do they think out of the box and swing for the fences with a non-traditional choice? There are lots of great names out there to choose from, but none combines what Jon Stewart and Trevor Noah had, but with a fresh new take, like Hasan Minhaj does. He seems born for the role and ready beyond his years. The search is over: Hasan Minhaj needs to be the next permanent host of The Daily Show — and if he gets it, God help any politician or celebrity who dares annoy him.