Trevor Noah’s newfound fame in political satire

By Ahmed A. Salifou

Now that 31-year-old Trevor Noah is set to fill the immeasurable void that will be left by Jon Stewart, The Daily Show’s long-tenured host, America awaits as he prepares to try his hand at political satire.

The biracial Trevor Noah was born in Soweto, South Africa, to Robert Noah, a Caucasian of Swiss-German ancestry, and Patricia Noah, a South African native of Bantu heritage. His upbringing in a country which, at the time, was under Apartheid rule, gave him much insight into racism—a subject that recurred in many of his routines later as a comedian.

Before giving comedy a go, the 18 year-old Noah would mark the beginning of his long career in television, starring on the South African soap Inidingo in 2002. Noah then briefly transitioned from television to radio as he began hosting his own show Noah’s Ark, and later Run The Adventure—an education program on SABC, a South African channel.

It would not be long before Noah became a well-known television presence: In 2007, he began hosting the celebrity gossip show The Real Goboza in 2007 and later the sports show Siyadlala. From May through August of 2008, he served as co-host of SABC’s interactive gaming show The Amazing Date, and went on to host prominent events such as the 3rd annual South African Film and Television Awards and the 15th annual South African Music Awards which both took place in 2009.

After a long stint in television hosting, Noah turned his attention to comedy as he performed several shows throughout South Africa, many of which humorously described his life growing up in a racially-divided South Africa as a biracial kid. Noah would later perform stand-up routines on The Tonight Show and Late Show with David Letterman, becoming the first South African comedian to appear on both.

Noah eventually became affiliated with The Daily Show, working as a contributor for the satirical program in December 2014. It would not be until 2015 that Comedy Central announced him as Jon Stewart’s successor. The announcement, however, was not universally-acclaimed as some people on Twitter considered Noah to be an unsuitable replacement, accusing him of making sexist and anti-Semitic jokes in his past comedic routines.

Noah is expected to begin hosting The Daily Show sometime in late 2015 or early 2016.