On December 8, 2022, Trevor Noah departed The Daily Show after seven years, having been hired to succeed Jon Stewart as its host in 2015. From January 2023 up until the writers strike began in May, the Comedy Central series kept afloat by bringing in various guest hosts, but naturally a permanent successor for Noah eventually needs to be hired. Earlier this week, it was said that Daily Show alum Hasan Minhaj could potentially score the job, and now there’s word that another replacement is in the running.
Actor Kal Penn, whose shown off his comedic chops in the Harold & Kumar film series, among other projects, is now being looked to take over The Daily Show, according to The Wrap. However, this doesn’t mean he has an edge over Minhaj now. An unnamed source allegedly “close to the decision-making process” informed the publication that they are among the “four leading candidates” to become The Daily Show’s new host, though the other two finalists weren’t identified.
Like Minhaj, Penn was one of The Daily Show’s guest hosts earlier this year, with his tenure lasting from March 13-16, and his first night seeing him interview President Joe Biden. Penn’s there recent credits include starring in The Santa Clauses Season 1 as Simon Choksi, playing Shaan Tripathi in the short-lived CBS series Clarice and appearing as Mac Marzara in American Horror Story: NYC. Additionally, Penn has political experience from when he worked as Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs during the Obama administration.
So with his professional background and that brief round of guest hosting, Kal Penn is certainly qualified enough to become the new face of The Daily Show. However, obviously such a time-intensive position would significantly limit the amount of roles he’d be able to play going forward. So if Penn is indeed approached to succeed Trevor Noah, he’ll need to weigh the pros and cons carefully before reaching a decision.
As for when we’ll learn whether Penn, Hasan Minhaj or someone else becomes The Daily Show’s new permanent host, that’s hard to say. It’d originally been reported that the plan was for the next host to take over sometime in fall 2023, but with the series still on hiatus due to the writers strike, that goal may no longer be feasible. Of course, Comedy Central could still just announce who the successor is in the coming weeks, but we may have to wait longer before we actually see them sitting at the anchor desk. Correspondent Roy Wood Jr. has also reportedly been eyed for the position.
You can rewatch old episodes of The Daily Show with a Paramount+ subscription while waiting to learn who the new host will be. Our 2023 TV schedule is also available to peruse if you’re looking for other forms of small screen entertainment.
