The Daily Show Looking at Fan-Favorite Cast Member to Become Full-Time Host

The Daily Show may have just found its newest host. On Tuesday, a report from Variety revealed that Hasan Minhaj is being regarded as the top candidate to host the long-running Comedy Central show, following the surprise exit of Trevor Noah late last year. Minhaj worked on The Daily Show as a correspondent from 2014 through 2018, before going on to host Netflix’s fan-favorite new series Patriot Act, which was canceled in August of 2020. The sources cited in the report stress that Minhaj isn’t officially confirmed to host The Daily Show, as a deal has yet to be finalized in any official manner. Nevertheless, Minhaj has previously expressed a desire to host The Daily Show, under the right circumstances.

“I’m definitely open to the conversation. It’s also a family conversation now. It’s a very different conversation then when I first got hired at the show when I was 29 My life is in a very different place. And so that’s a bigger life/family convo. It changes a lot of things,” Minhaj told Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast in May. “It’s an all encompassing, all consuming thing. And other people have to live with the consequences of what I say. And I just want to make sure everybody, if that were to ever come to fruition, ‘hey, are we all on board with this?’”

Why Did Trevor Noah Leave The Daily Show?

Noah announced his plans to depart The Daily Show in late 2022, with his final episode airing on December 8th of that year. As he told audiences upon the announcement, he felt it was “time” to step away from the show.

“It’s been absolutely amazing. It’s something that I never expected,” Noah said at the time. “And I found myself thinking throughout the time, everything we’ve gone through, Trump presidency, the pandemic, the journey, more pandemic. And I realized that after the seven years, my time is up, but in the most beautiful way. I’ve loved hosting this show, it’s been one of my greatest challenges, it’s been one of my greatest joy. I love trying to figure out how to make people laugh, even when the stories are particularly sh*tty on the worst days. We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together, but after seven years I feel like it’s time.”

Who Has Hosted The Daily Show After Trevor Noah?

Following Noah’s exit, The Daily Show has been hosted by a number of fill-in hosts. In addition to Minhaj, these names have included Sarah Silverman, Leslie Jones, Kal Penn and Al Franken, as well as current correspondents Roy Wood, Desi Lydic, Dulce Sloan, and Michael Kosta. The show has not aired new episodes in recent months, amid the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

What do you think of Hasan Minhaj potentially returning to host The Daily Show? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!