Weekly Kibbitz
After Trevor Noah hosts his last ‘Daily Show,’
comedians wait in wings
show, “I Love You, America,” from 2017 to 2019.

Handler, whose father was Jewish and who had a
bat mitzvah, has hosted several talk shows on E!
in addition to numerous other books and stand-up
appearances. The announcement of Franken as a guest host
was particularly notable as he has only recently
moved to re-enter the comedy world after reluc-
tantly stepping down from the U.S. Senate in 2018
following multiple allegations of sexual miscon-
duct. Silverman, meanwhile, has been an active
Internet presence in the last few years through her
podcast and social-media accounts, and helped
to popularize the controversial term “Jewface” to
describe non-Jewish actors being cast in Jewish
roles. Handler has courted controversy numerous times
throughout her career, including favorably sharing
a video of antisemitic Nation of Islam leader Louis
Farrakhan at the height of the Black Lives Matter
protests before later apologizing.

While plans for a permanent replacement remain
up in the air, the show likely wouldn’t announce
one until at least the second half of 2023, according
Trevor Noah was the host of “The Daily Show” from
2015 until 2022.

to reports. There’s a chance that producers could
draw from the show’s current well of (non-Jewish)
correspondents rather than its rotating guest hosts.

Other guest hosts scheduled to take turns anchor-
ing the show include Hasan Minhaj, Wanda Sykes,
John Leguizamo and Marlon Wayans.

Late-night TV currently has a dearth of Jewish
hosts, with the strongest Jewish connections com-
ing from NBC’s Seth Meyers (whose wife is Jewish)
and HBO’s Bill Maher (whose mother was Jewish
but hid the information from him until he was a
teenager; he currently identifi es as an atheist).

Stewart currently hosts the comedic news maga-
zine “The Problem With Jon Stewart” on Apple TV+.

— Andrew Lapin
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4 DECEMBER 29, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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As “The Daily Show” looks ahead to a future
without host Trevor Noah, at least three Jewish
comedians are waiting to take his place — at least
temporarily. Al Franken, Sarah Silverman and Chelsea Handler
are among the extensive list of guest hosts that
Comedy Central has lined up to hold down the fort
in 2023 following the Dec. 8 departure of Noah,
who had taken over the show in 2015 after long-
time Jewish host Jon Stewart called it quits. Noah,
raised in South Africa, himself had a bar mitzvah
and was raised by a single mom who converted
to Judaism, although he got in trouble when he
assumed the gig for tweets that were seen by some
as antisemitic.

The Jewish hosts won’t be fi rst out of the gate
in the new year — that honor goes to former
“Saturday Night Live” cast member Leslie Jones.

But the Jewish comics waiting in the wings are no
strangers to political humor.

Franken enjoyed a long “SNL” career and brief
stint as a progressive talk-radio host before becom-
ing a U.S. senator in 2009. Silverman, in addition
to her own time on “SNL”, hosted a Hulu talk