Even though he’s only been a part of the Daily Show family since October, South African comedian Trevor Noah has reportedly joined Comedy Central’s list of potential Jon Stewart replacements.
Sources told Variety on Friday that Noah is moving up the list and has made the network’s shortlist. However, no decision has been made and there is no guarantee that he could get the job.
Noah joined the show in October and has since contributed a few segments. He has previously made standup appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Considering his short tenure with the show, it is surprising that he would emerge as a top candidate. However, considering how many others have dropped out of the running, Comedy Central is left with few choices. Jason Jones is already leaving for a TBS sitcom, while his wife, Samantha Bee, is also going to host her own satire show at TBS. Jessica Williams, who many were rooting for, also took herself out of the running on Twitter.
Stephen Colbert can’t be considered because he’s taking over The Late Show and John Oliver just got his Last Week Tonight HBO series renewed.
Whoever replaces Stewart will be just the third host for the show. It launched in 1996 with Craig Kilborn as host and Stewart has been hosting since 1999. Stewart announced in February that he plans on leaving the show by the end of 2015.
screenshot from Comedy Central YouTube video