WATCH ABOVE: Trevor Noah’s first appearance on The Daily Show in December 2014.
TORONTO – A 31-year-old South African comedian who has only appeared on The Daily Show three times has been tapped to succeed Jon Stewart as host.
Comedy Central announced the change Monday, two months after 52-year-old Stewart announced his pending retirement.
Noah told The New York Times in a telephone interview from Dubai that he “didn’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.”
Noah’s first appearance on the show was in December, at the height of an Ebola scare in Africa, when he did a piece on the differences between South Africa and the United States called “spot the Africa.”
“I never thought I’d be more afraid of police in America than in South Africa. It kind of makes me a little nostalgic for the old days back home,” he said.
Noah will be the third host of The Daily Show since it first aired in 1999. The satirical comedy show has won a litany of awards including 18 Primetime Emmy Awards and two Peabody awards.
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