Trevor Noah, 'Daily Show's' Jon Stewart Replacement, Is SAfrican Comic

Trevor Noah has been selected by Comedy Central to take over as host of "The Daily Show" when Jon Stewart retires from the program later this year, the network announced Monday.

The 31-year-old South African native has appeared as a contributor on the show before and has also been featured on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "The Late Show with David Letterman." He even hosted his own late night talk show in his native South Africa, according to the Comedy Central statement.

"Trevor Noah is an enormous talent," Michele Ganeless, president of Comedy Central, said. "He has an insightful and unique point of view, and most importantly, is wickedly funny. For the next host of 'The Daily Show,' we set out to find a fresh voice who can speak to our audience with a keen take on the events of the day, and we found that in Trevor."

"He has a huge international following and is poised to explode here in America, and we are thrilled to have him join Comedy Central," Ganeless continued.

Noah posted a message on Twitter Monday acknowledging his new gig.

No-one can replace Jon Stewart. But together with the amazing team at The Daily Show, we will continue to make this the best damn news show!

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) March 30, 2015

Stewart also expressed his approval of Noah's selection as his replacement in the Comedy Central statement.

"I'm thrilled for the show and for Trevor," Stewart said. "He's a tremendous comic and talent that we've loved working with. In fact, I may rejoin as a correspondent just to be a part of it."

Mark Reston, of The New York Times, said judging from Noah's social media activity over the past six years, he should be well-suited to handle "The Daily Show's" delicate balance of comedy and current events.

"During his years as a professional comedian, Trevor Noah, like many of his peers, has established a strong footprint on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram," Reston wrote. "Mr. Noah's Twitter account has accumulated nearly 2 million followers since he created it in 2009. His tweets show a comedian who is just as likely to sincerely engage the news as make jokes about it . . . A series about the memorial service for Nelson Mandela offered an example of Mr. Noah's penchant for going beyond comedy."

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