It looks like “The Daily Show” has a new host.
On Monday, the show announced that comedian Trevor Noah will take over for Jon Stewart, who announced in February that he was leaving after 16 years. Stewart himself succeeded Craig Kilborn and saw the news program’s popularity skyrocket.
“You don’t believe it for the first few hours,” Noah told the New York Times from Dubai, where he’s on tour. “You need a stiff drink, and then unfortunately you’re in a place where you can’t really get alcohol.”
Noah, 31, who is South African and biracial, debuted on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” in December.
Stewart approves of his replacement.
“I’m thrilled for the show and for Trevor,” Stewart said in a statement. “He’s a tremendous comic and talent that we’ve loved working with.”
Under Stewart, the Comedy Central has become extremely popular, with its satirical view of the news and current events. Noah has made three appearances on the show.
The nightly show has been good to its contributors. It spun off “The Colbert Report” with Stephen Colbert, and former correspondents Larry Wilmore and John Oliver went on to host “The Nightly Show” and “Last Week Tonight,” respectively. “Daily Show” correspondent Samantha Bee is reportedly heading to TBS to helm her own show.
Fellow comic Chris Rock had one of the funniest reactions on Twitter.
Noah tweeted that “No one can replace Jon Stewart,” but he seems excited to take on the role.