Jon Stewart’s successor continues the war on bulls***.
Warning: Full spoilers from the episode follow.
Trevor Noah kicked off his first night hosting The Daily Show by thanking his predecessor and “political dad” Jon Stewart. “Thank you, Jon… for believing in me,” Noah said at the top of the episode. “I’ll make you not look like the crazy old dude who left his inheritance to some random kid from Africa.”
From there, Noah jumped straight into the news, discussing the Pope’s recent visit to America (“Pope-mojis!”), John Boehner’s resignation, (“No! Why leave now? I just got here!”) and NASA discovering water on Mars (“You mean this, but up there!?”).
Right off the bat, you could easily see what Stewart and Comedy Central saw in the beaming young Noah. In addition to leading with great material, the comedian’s delivery and charm were spot-on. Almost all of his jokes landed too, including a reference to Stewart’s beloved New York Mets. “I don’t know what that is, but Jon told me it would work,” he said.
Noah’s first correspondent segment with Jordan Klepper was also fun, as they milked the “John/Jon replacement” bit for all its worth. The same went for his and Roy Wood Jr.’s back and forth about them going to Mars. (“You’ve had The Daily Show for one commercial break — these white folks haven’t decided if they like you yet!”) Indeed, Noah started his Daily Show guns blazing, which is exactly what you want in a program centered around up-to-the-minute news satire. No dawdling; just straight to the content.
However, Noah’s interview with Kevin Hart was a little awkward in spots. At the beginning, when Hart gave Noah his gift — a box of ties for the show (a very thoughtful gift, in my opinion!) — I wasn’t sure if the two were doing a bit or if Noah actually wasn’t enthused by his present. I also thought Noah’s interview could have used a little more prep; lots of repetitive questions and talking over Hart.
That said, it wasn’t a disaster by any means, and the rest of the episode leading up to the interview was very strong. Noah certainly showed that he has the chops to riff on the news, and if this episode was any indicator, I’d say The Daily Show is in good hands.
As Jon Stewart’s replacement, Trevor Noah made a great first impression as the host of The Daily Show. His jokes were funny, his screen presence lively, and he had a good rapport with his first two correspondents. While his interview skills could use some sprucing up, overall, Noah’s first episode of The Daily Show was a rousing success.
