LOS ANGELES — Late-night television and nightly political satire will miss "The Daily Show" host Trevor Noah, who announced Thursday that he's exiting the Comedy Central series after seven years behind the desk. The South African comedian brought "third world" perspective — his words — to a talk-show circuit populated with white American and Anglo jokesters.
Noah's outsider status, initially considered a drawback in his line of work, eventually became his biggest strength. By connecting us with the rest of the world during an incredibly fraught time in American politics, the comedian reminded his audience that we weren't the first to experience such upheaval, and we weren't alone. His sharp and knowing commentary about global affairs, foreign conflict, colonialism and the realities of race and inequality both inside and outside the U.S. somehow made our own spiraling state of the union feel a little less catastrophic.
"I've loved trying to find a way to make people laugh, even when the stories are particularly s—, even on the worst days," he told the audience at Thursday's "Daily Show" taping. But the global exposure that forged his comedic style is also at least part of why he's decided to depart — at a date still to be determined, according to the network. "I spent two years in my apartment, not on the road, and when I got back out there, I realized there's another part of my life out there that I want to carry on exploring. I miss learning other languages. I miss going to other countries and putting on shows," Noah said. He thanked Comedy Central for believing in "this random comedian nobody knew on this side of the world."
