When Jon Stewart announced he was leaving The Daily Show, many (myself included) first felt an immense sadness. Not only has the guy been a consistent presence in the late night TV lineup for nearly 17 years, but he singlehandedly transformed the show into a smart, politically inclined phenomenon, offering humorous satirical takes on the biggest issues affecting the world without devolving into cynicism. In short, it’s tough to imagine The Daily Show without Jon Stewart, and replacing him was going to be a near-impossible task.
Earlier today Comedy Central formally announced that Trevor Noah, a South African comedian who has been a correspondent on the series since December 2014, will be taking over the series when Stewart leaves. He’s a solid choice and makes clear that Comedy Central isn’t looking to replace Jon Stewart, they’re looking for someone who can make the show their own.
But some were surprised that Comedy Central opted to go with a lesser known candidate rather than an established star. The process of finding the new host was no doubt intense, so who else did they look at? Well, if you believe Bill Simmons, Comedy Central approached three big names during the search:
Any iteration of The Daily Show with either Amy Poheler, Louis C.K., or Amy Schumer would’ve been kind of incredible—just imaging Poehler’s daily take on the world’s events or CK’s deadpan observations with regularity is glee-inducing.
So, if Simmons is to be believed, Comedy Central initially went about choosing a very established name to sit behind the desk, but hosting The Daily Show is a massive commitment, and I imagine Poehler and CK had hesitations about the constraints. Schumer is more of an up-and-comer by comparison and has a connection to Comedy Central through her series Inside Amy Schumer, but she wrote and stars in her own movie Trainwreck, opening this summer, and likely didn’t want to cut short what could be a fruitful film career ahead of her.
At the end of the day, going with someone like Noah is probably the way to go. He has the chance to make The Daily Show his own without preconceived notions about with The Daily Show with Trevor Noah looks like, whereas someone like Poehler would’ve had folks complaining if her version of the show wasn’t just an extended installment of Weekend Update. I'm both eager and terrified to see what Noah and his team put together.
