Trevor Noah’s next act has begun.
A day after announcing on air that he’d be departing The Daily Show after seven years, Noah made his way to Toronto, where he filmed his third Netflix special. Titled I Wish you Would, the hour will premiere globally Nov. 22.
Despite its timing, sources who were present at the show say the Emmy- and Grammy-nominated comic didn’t discuss his bombshell announcement onstage. Instead, the set, part of Noah’s Back to Abnormal Tour, includes revelations about learning to speak German, modern communication and his love of curry.
The special, which follows Noah’s previous hours Son of Patricia and Afraid of the Dark, will once again be directed by David Paul Meyer. Noah serves as an executive producer on the hour alongside his managers Norm Aladjem and Derek Van Pelt, veteran producer Bob Bain and Sanaz Yamin, whom Noah tapped to run his fast-growing Day Zero Productions late last year.
One of only a handful of comics who play arenas on multiple continents, Noah has said he intends to spend more time on the road once he signs off from The Daily Show in early December. “I spent two years [of the pandemic] in my apartment, not on the road, and when I got back out there again, I realized that there’s another part of my life that I want to carry on exploring,” he told his Comedy Central audience in late September. “I miss learning other languages, I miss going to other countries and putting on shows, I miss being everywhere and doing everything.”
Meanwhile, Paramount brass, led by Chris McCarthy, is said to have been intensely focused on finding Noah’s replacement in recent weeks, with the show’s current cadre of correspondents considered viable options. Despite early rumblings that Paramount could punt the show to its streaming service (where it already airs the following day), executives at the company have been steadfast in their commitment to keeping the next iteration of The Daily Show on Comedy Central. While linear ratings have plummeted everywhere, the show has maintained a massive social footprint and, in the first half of 2022 alone, generated nearly $25 million in advertising revenue, per Kantar.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
