Roy Wood Jr., a longtime contributor to Comedy Central‘s “Daily Show,” will not appear on the late-night program when it returns to production later this month, the latest wrinkle to develop at the long-running show as executives continue to hunt for a successor to former host Trevor Noah.
“I can’t come up with Plan B is while still working with Plan A,” the comedian told NPR, noting he doesn’t want to continue as one of the show’s cadre of correspondents while someone else is being considered for the top role. “The job of correspondent…it’s not really one where you can juggle multiple things. [And] I think eight years is a good run,” he said.
His exit spotlights complications at the venerable program as Comedy Central broadens its search for a new lead figure. Noah abruptly announced his exit in late 2022 in front of a live audience that had come to see a the taping of a new episode. Comedy Central has relied on guest hosts ever since — until the show had to go dark due to the Hollywood writers strike.
The Paramount Global network had settled on Hasan Minhaj as a leading candidate for the job, but then appears to have reversed its decision after that comic — who had guest hosted along with candidates such as Chelsea Handler, Marlon Wayans, Kal Penn and Sarah Silverman — after a New Yorker report described ways in which Minhaj had embellished some of his autobiographical comedy routines.
“Daily Show” has been through similar tumult in the past. When Jon Stewart neared the end of his tenure at the series, several correspondents began to consider outside offers. John Oliver, who had filled in for Stewart during an absence from “Daily,” moved to HBO to launch “Last Week Tonight.” And longtime correspondent Samantha Bee jumped to launch her own series at Warner Bros. Discovery’s TBS.
“Daily Show” is expected to return to original production on October 16, with guest hosts slated to lead the series for the rest of the year. Executives expect to have identify a new host in the interim and have that person in place by 2024.
“Roy Wood Jr is a comedic genius and beloved teammate. His insights and hilarity helped us make sense of the 2016 election, the pandemic, and countless hours of Fox News,” Comedy Central said in a statement. “We thank him for his time with us and can’t wait to see what he does next.”
