Who Is Trevor Noah? He is an international 31 year old that lived in a place where he could not walk on the same street as his father. A place where it was illegal for his mother to claim him because he is biracial. He grew up in Soweto, the son of a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father. During the apartheid era it was illegal for them to be a family. Yet he managed to turned out to be success. So before you count him out add up what he has been through and think over the fortitude he must have had to get to where he is now.
“My mother had to be very clandestine about who my father was. He couldn’t be on my birth certificate.” ~Trevor Noah
Trevor Noah was only on the Daily Show three times but it was enough to impress the folks at Comedy Central. It didn’t hurt that Trevor Noah is internationally known, articulate, smart and oh yeah, funny. John Stewart had a successful 16-year run as host of the The Daily Show. He had a gift for turning hard news into satirical comedy. Trevor Noah will be the first late night non white since Arsenio Hall to really generate ratings and bring in a truly broad demographic. I think that Trevor Noah will transform the show into something the hip demo of 18-35 year olds will look forward to. I don’t think he will be able to completely change the show right away. However, I think we already have the blueprint of what new blood can do for a franchise. Jimmy Fallon came into the Tonight Show and did it his way. He added the rap group Roots as his band. He was social media savvy. He had young people watching the show again. More than that, they were sharing the content the next day. I think with the international perspective that Trevor Noah has, he will do something similar with “The Daily Show.”
“You don’t believe it for the first few hours. You need a stiff drink, and then unfortunately you’re in a place where you can’t really get alcohol.” ~Trevor Noah said after finding out about the job
“I’m thrilled for the show and for Trevor. He’s a tremendous comic and talent that we’ve loved working with. I may rejoin as a correspondent just to be a part of it!!!” ~” John Stewart
Even though I am thrilled someone with different cultural perceives will be hosting a high-profile show. We have to pause and ponder why not someone else with more on air experiences. Samantha Bee has been with the show since 2003 but is leaving to create a comedy news show for TBS. Jessica Williams even had a campaign started for her. She quickly killed that idea on here twitter by saying “Thank you but I am extremely under-qualified for the job!”
“We talked to women. We talked to men. We found in Trevor the best person for the job. He brings such a unique worldview and a deep understanding of human nature, which makes his comedy so insightful. He’s truly a student of the world.” ~Michele Ganeless, the Comedy Central president
Trevor Noah can speak six languages. He is not your normal comic. He came to Stewart’s attention about two years ago. He clearly made a great impression because he did not have any formal auditions for the job.
“He told me, ‘I was where you were when I took over the show. ‘Nobody knew me. I was just starting out, finding my voice, and that’s when I was handed this seat. Now it’s my turn to steer the ship.” Trevor Noah on speaking about John Stewart