The host
Jon Stewart’s departure as host of the most acerbic political satire show on US television, during an election campaign that seemed perfect for his barbs, left many shaking their heads and pondering whether a post-Stewart Daily Show could match up to the standard he set. When it was announced that a little-known South African comic, who could sell out shows around the world but was far from a household name in the US, would be taking over, those head-shakes turned into shocked double takes. Noah has spent much of the last month talking to media outlets in an attempt to sell himself to the American public. On Colbert’s Late Show, he impersonated the entire GOP field of presidential candidates.
He drove around drinking coffee with Jerry Seinfeld and gave Americans his life story. He told the New York Times about the intense five-week period he’s had to prepare the show. While speaking to Rolling Stone, he tried to repair some of the damage done when offensive jokes about women and Jews he had previously tweeted were dug up. He said: “If you look at jokes that were acceptable 10, 20 years ago, like the way comics referred to certain groups – minorities, people of certain sexual orientations – you go, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that was a normal thing to say’. At certain points we say, ‘Hey that’s actually not acceptable. We shouldn’t have been doing that or saying that.’”
The writers’ room
.@Trevornoah describes the "epidemic of blackness" that's occurred since his arrival at @TheDailyShow #truestory pic.twitter.com/4t56uwuVjy
— Baratunde (@baratunde) September 23, 2015
Noah has joked about the “epidemic of blackness” that has swept into Comedy Central since his arrival. Toward the end of Stewart’s tenure, former Daily Show correspondent Wyatt Cenac’s revelations about his bust-up with Stewart over the host’s impressions of Herman Cain exposed the lack of diversity in the Daily Show writing room. Noah seems focused on ensuring there is a mix of writers of colour and women, rather than the still dominant late-night formula of employing lots of white, middle-class men. So in addition to the show’s American writing staff there will be Australian, Ugandan and South African input in the mix.
The delivery
Stewart’s venting – his spleen-popping invective and palpable anger – were his calling cards. The Daily Show was a must-watch for many because only Stewart could articulately and aggressively express the pain felt by millions of Americans about the latest political outrage. Noah’s style is far more balanced and steady, and in his standup he calmly prods at a subject, examining it, tilting it and finally pinpointing exactly where the funny lies before exposing it. A test for Noah might be when the next Ferguson or Charleston-style event happens and Americans, who have to wade through the polarising invective on either side of the debate, look for the definitive verdict: will Noah be able to hit that note in the way Stewart did?
Online presence
At a time when late-night shows are increasingly focusing on online reach as well as the traditional ratings war, the Daily Show has made arguably it’s smartest hire in order to compete. Baratunde Thurston, the former Onion political editor and director of digital strategy (as well as podcast host), is the man tasked with creating original content across social and digital outlets. The Daily Show’s online attraction was being able to watch Stewart’s acerbic takes on the issue of the day, but Thurston – who has served as an adviser to the Obama administration – will try to expand that. With a growing writers’ room and correspondents such as Jessica Williams, of whom fans always want more, Thurston has the arsenal to create something that resonates online as well as on late-night TV.
