‘The Daily Show’ Bosses Plan Big Changes Amid Demands to Name New Host
The Daily Show has used a revolving door of celebrity guest hosts since Trevor Noah exited the series in December 2022, but this year, the long-running late-night show is changing things up.
According to Deadline, the Comedy Central series will lean on its regular correspondents to lead the show through this election year rather than rely on celebrity guest hosts. This could be a sign that the new permanent host (or hosts) could already be on staff. Fans have been anxiously waiting for news about who will front the show following Noah’s departure.
The news comes after The Daily Show‘s surprise win at Monday’s (January 15) Emmys, where it took home the award for Outstanding Talk Series for Noah’s final season. During Noah’s speech, former correspondent Roy Wood Jr. could be seen mouthing “Please hire a host” in the background.
Wood Jr. shared a clip of the moment on social media, writing, “Chill, fam I was trying to do that in the low.”
chill fam I was trying to do that in the low https://t.co/kW1AD4yxhN
— Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) January 16, 2024
Comedy Central has yet to confirm the correspondent host news but told The Wrap it will be making an official announcement of The Daily Show‘s plans next week.
“We are grateful to the Television Academy for recognizing our incredibly talented team and want to take this week to honor and thank them,” a Comedy Central spokesperson said. “Next week, we’ll be sharing our plans for The Daily Show’s next chapter.”
As reported by Deadline, several of the ‘correspondents’ contracts are currently up, and negotiations are taking place to keep them on board. Michael Kosta is said to already be signed up, while Ronny Chieng, Desi Lydic, and Jordan Klepper are currently in talks for new contracts.
Since Noah left the series, The Daily Show has been guest hosted by the likes of Leslie Jones, Sarah Silverman, Al Franken, Michelle Wolf, Kal Penn, Chelsea Handler, Marlon Wayans, Wanda Sykes, John Leguizamo, D.L. Hughley, Desus Nice, Charlamagne Tha God, and Hasan Minhaj, who was in the running for the permanent host spot until New Yorker article questioned the accuracy of his stand-up comedy anecdotes.
There was also a News Team Takeover week, with Klepper and Lydic’s week earning the highest ratings among the correspondents, with 602,000 total viewers.
