Whoo-Hoo! Comedy Central's ‘The Daily Show’ Taps Chelsea Handler, Wanda Sykes & Others As Guest Hosts For Potential Replacements With Trevor Noah Signing Off This Week.

Whoo-Hoo! Comedy Central's ‘The Daily Show’ Taps Chelsea Handler, Wanda Sykes & Others As Guest Hosts For Potential Replacements With Trevor Noah Signing Off This Week.  

"With Trevor Noah set to sign off Dec. 8, The Daily Show is eyeing its next chapter.

Comedy Central announced Tuesday that it had lined up a series of guest hosts to emcee the show when it returns from its hiatus Jan. 17. To date, the group includes a series of potential replacements — Al Franken, Chelsea Handler, D.L. Hughley, Leslie Jones, John Leguizamo, Hasan Minhaj, Kal Penn, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes and Marlon Wayans — along with a cadre of current correspondents and contributors, such as Roy Wood Jr. and Desi Lydic.

“As we enter Trevor’s final week, we want to thank him for his many contributions,“ Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy said in a statement, adding: “Trevor redefined the show, as did Jon Stewart before him, and as we look to the future, we are excited to reimagine it yet again with the help of this incredible list of talent and correspondents along with the immensely talented Daily Show team.”

As part of a recent Hollywood Reporter cover story, which detailed Noah’s bombshell decision to exit the topical show after seven years, he revealed he’s been doling out hosting advice to his bench of correspondents, from Lydic and Wood to Ronny Chieng and Dulcé Sloan. As he noted, it was important to him that they approach the job of hosting with all of the knowledge that he felt he didn’t have when he arrived years ago.

“I wish someone had told me what a grind it was,” said Noah, noting that the responsibilities extend far beyond simply hosting. “You’re also running the show, so everything from HR to designing the set, you’re a part of, and it doesn’t stop when you leave the building. There’s no moment when breaking news happens where I go, ‘Oh, wow, I don’t care.’ No, I have to care; being informed is part of my job.” 

To be sure, many of the outside folks, from Handler (E!’s Chelsea Lately) and Silverman (Hulu’s I Love You, America) to Minhaj (Netflix’s Patriot Act) and Penn (Freeform’s Kal Penn Approves this Message), have experience with their own shows. They are also said to have varying levels of interest — from a whole lot to very little at all — in hosting The Daily Show as a full-time gig.

Noah, for his part, will play absolutely no role in choosing his replacement, though he has acknowledged that he’d be willing to remain involved in the show in whatever capacity the new host desires, be it as a producer or simply a supportive viewer." - Hollywoodreporter.com