Eventually, Noah took the correspondent job. Then, less than a year later, Noah was hosting the whole show, and a rocky first season saw viewership drop 37% from his predecessor. Some critics complained that Noah wasn’t a natural fit, and that he struggled to find the incisive and entertaining perspective on the world’s most serious news stories that made The Daily Show a success.
Though Noah grew into the role and won an audience of his own with his cleverness and charisma, the world of politics and breaking news could never hold his focus the way his stand-up career and his other creative ventures could. The decision to split from The Daily Show was born from a conversation with Paramount executives Chris McCarthy and Keyes Hill-Edgar, wherein Noah realized that neither he nor his higher-ups would be able to find a balance that would allow Noah to focus on his stand-up career, move into film, write his second book, and also host 100+ episodes of The Daily Show every year.
Now, as Paramount carefully picks Noah’s replacement, the South African comic is warning his friends and correspondents that they’re going to have to read the news every day if they want to be the host of The Daily Show. For all of Noah’s talents, topicality and political insight have never been high on the list, as opposed to Roy Wood Jr., Noah’s longtime friend and colleague, whose passion and fury when it comes to politics have never been understated. Though Wood has been a popular name in the rumor mill, he claims that he won’t try to predict the future while Noah is still in the chair. Said Wood, “It’s too overwhelming … and I don’t want to have that on my mind.”
At the end of tenure, Noah says he’s not sure if, given the opportunity to do it all again, he would go back and take the job as Daily Show host, though he’s happy to have had the experience. Said Noah, “I am glad that I did it. It’s like, would I go bungee jumping again? I don’t know, but I’m glad I did that, too.”
Maybe the next host will like bungee jumping and reading the news.