Trevor Noah replaces Jon Stewart on ‘The Daily Show’

By Ryan, December 11, 2015

By Beñat Quartararo, Staff Writer//

To say that new host Trevor Noah has some big shoes to fill would be an understatement. Jon Stewart’s 16 years behind the desk of “The Daily Show” has amassed a following of millions of faithful fans, educating the 18-24 year-old demographic about the many political issues of our time. The sheer bite of the Stewart era’s constant mockery of the 24-hour news cycle and a certain American political party’s pattern of obstructionism both rallied and amused a whole generation of voting-age citizens and rejuvenated those kids’ parents.

Stewart resisted the complete cynicism that is easy to embrace in the 21st century and had not just a real passion to affect change with his massive vocal platform, but to inspire his viewers to do the same. His successor was named months in advance, but the great question left in the wake of his retirement is if the show will continue to thrive under Noah.
Noah is from South Africa, a land of racial and political upheaval that gives a man born to a Swede father and Xhosa-Jewish mother quite a perspective from an early age. His stand up material largely focuses on living under apartheid (“I was born a crime”), as well as what it means to “be black” in America and elsewhere. Race has been such a central part of his identity that it is no wonder that he and the many writers of this show often gravitate towards stories that underrepresented and marginalized groups in this country could appreciate.
Alongside Stewart left several veteran correspondents seeking new endeavors, freeing up space in the roster for those who would better represent these kinds of issues. For example, Roy Wood Jr. has made what could be a somber or exasperating subject into a darkly humorous one with every appearance that he makes. The youthful face rarely seen on screen without a grin is a departure from Stewart’s older, kindly visage, which was, in the last season clearly tired of years of watching the US political situation sit in quagmire night after night.
Noah brings a definite spring in his step and has no qualms about laughing out loud with his audience at whatever absurdity is being dissected in the current bit. It really is hard not to smile at least a little while you watch his enthusiasm and bemused confusion about American society. As for the particular brand of comedy he brings to the show, it is more in line with the snarky, smug English species, always up for “taking the piss” out of the establishment without really being angry or emotional.
A lot of jokes might take a minute to sink in, and can get really dark. Noah has caught heat in the past for pushing the envelope for what Americans view as “in good taste,” which is wildly different from that of the rest of the world, but he’s stayed in the clear thus far.
It has not even been a full season yet and the general format of the program is still the same. The show lives on with fresh blood and a new, faster drumbeat.
Noah is literally a foreign sort of commentator and he knows it. One of the first things he said to the captive viewership was that he would never try to replace the former legend whose chair he now sits in, because that’s impossible.
Jon Stewart picked him for a reason. Time will tell if “The Daily Show” will reach the intense heights it did prior to his arrival, but one needs only look to his gleeful smirk to feel just a little bit more upbeat about it all.