Comedy Central loves to promote on-air talent from within, and that may be the case on The Daily Show. On Thursday, news broke that Trevor Noah is leaving the comedy news show soon, with few details on how the show will proceed without him. Now, sources close to the production have reportedly told TMZ that correspondent Roy Wood Jr. may take over as host once Noah is gone.
Noah became the host of The Daily Show in 2015, taking over for Jon Stewart, and that same year Wood joined the cast as a parody news correspondent. The comedian is now 43 years old, and is one of the most beloved figures on the series. He is known for providing exaggerated news “analysis,” often commenting on Black American culture and how it relates to politics for the average person. Some of his most-watched segments were also scathing critiques of the Trump administration, including some unique twists that other comedians weren’t pursuing at the time.
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Wood was born in New York City and spent some of his childhood there, but at some point he and his family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where he finished school and attended college. He did stand-up comedy and found work as a radio host during that time, and eventually landed on Jamie Foxx’s SiriusXM radio show. He then moved to Los Angeles, California where he competed on NBC’s Last Comic Standing in Season 7 and made more connections in Hollywood.
Wood moved to New York City in order to accept a job on The Daily Show in 2015, and has made an even bigger name for himself in the stand-up world since then. He has three Comedy Central stand-up specials streaming now on Paramount+ for those interested in getting acquainted with his sense of humor outside of The Daily Show.
Wood is also active on Twitter, but so far he hasn’t commented on reports that he may be taking over Noah’s hosting duties. However, he has offered some jokes about Noah leaving the show behind. Noah announced the news himself on Thursday. He announced that he will wrap up his run soon, but did not say when nor what he will do next. Comedy Central did not give any hints either, though spokespeople confirmed the news and thanked Noah for his years of good work.
The Daily Show airs on weeknights at 11 p.m. ET on Comedy Central. You can also stream the show on Paramount+, along with some of Wood’s stand-up comedy specials.
