The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: Our Boy nails it
Photo: Comedy Central
Were you sitting in front of the television last night sporting a huge fucking grin? A grin that mirrored the grin of Trevor Noah?
I sure was.
Our boy made his long-awaited debut on The Daily Show on Monday night, and while he probably pissed his pants a few hours before he was scheduled to go on the air, he took his seat in that chair, behind the news desk, with a certain confidence and smooth charm that seemed to resonate with American viewers.
They liked him. They liked Trevor. That’s half the battle won. Jon Stewart won 18 Emmy Awards during his tenure on The Daily Show, a job that made Stewart a legend in the business, and finding a replacement for him was always going to be a tough task. Frankly, some American viewers weren’t expecting much to come from Trevor, but they gave him a shot.
His Daily Show debut premiered to more than 3 million viewers, almost exactly the same number Jon Stewart’s finale attracted just a few months before.
During his opening monologue on Monday night, Trevor mentioned that some viewers might not be ready to welcome a new face, calling Stewart their “political dad”. Noah followed that up with a cracker: “It feels like the family has a new stepdad, and he’s black”. Yes, that must be very awkward. Normally, new stepdads try their best to be funny, they try their best to make the kids think their cool.
Trevor proved his coolness.
The best segment from the premiere was without a doubt the story about NASA finding water on Mars. Just like Trevor, Roy Wood Jr is new to the Daily Show. Like us, Wood wasn’t really impressed by the discovery: “I can tell you I don’t give a shit,” was his first response to story, and his first line of the segment. When Noah pushed him a little further, asking about the possibility of people one day living on Mars, he said “Black people aren’t going to Mars”. He went further by saying just because Trevor is on television, doesn’t mean he’s going to Mars. Apparently, he’s no Beyoncé or Oprah.
The best lines: You’ve only had The Daily Show for one commercial break. These white folks ain’t decided if they like you yet!” Hilarious, right? New black dude on a show controlled for 16 years by a very funny middle-aged white dude. It was a great segment.
Another strong segment that riffed off Trevor being the new guy was another segment featuring a correspondent, Jordan Klepper. What began as a segment about John Boehner resigning quickly turned into Noah being the “new guy” and how he could “nail it”.
Both were great segments that worked together with Trevor’s natural, easy charm. Trevor transitioned easily into his new job but it definitely wasn’t perfect, and no one expected it to be.
One joke that fell somewhat flat was Trevor’s line about crack bragging about taking down Whitney Houston. The Daily Show crowd didn’t seem to find it all that funny, and Trevor quickly had to retort, asking if that joke was “Too soon?” He quickly smoothed it over, though, and recovered nicely. Our boy is a successful stand-up comedian after all, he knows how to recover when things go shit.
The only segment of the show that, for me personally, failed dismally was the Kevin Hart interview. That dude talked so much he barely gave Trevor an opportunity to speak. It’s hard to pin point what the interview was about. He gave Trevor a present? Ties? That’s all I can remember. And some joke about being a “mitch” – a man bitch. He sure talked like one. Interviews really are the hardest thing to get right.
However, one thing did come from that interview segment: viewers did not find Kevin funny, but they enjoyed Trevor. So, that’s good.
Given the time, Trevor could integrate himself fully into this show, and make The Daily Show his. He proved he has the easy charm, the natural humour, and the wonderful grin to make a great host. That dude did a great job.
Another thing that made me very happy: seeing South Africans all across social media standing up for Trevor, and being proud. It’s cool when we get the opportunity to do that on an international scale. Trevor is a great figure for this country, and we need to keep it that way.
Did you tune in to check out our boy? What did you think? Remember, weekdays at 9PM, on Comedy Central, channel 122.
