The Daily Show host Trevor Noah announced Thursday he would be leaving the show after seven years, saying that his “time is up.”
“It’s been absolutely amazing. It’s something that I never expected,” Noah said in a video posted to Twitter. “I found myself thinking throughout the time of everything we’ve gone through. The Trump presidency, the pandemic, just the journey, the more pandemic and I realize that after the seven years, my time is up.”
The South African-born comedian did not say where he’s headed to next, but hinted that he may pursue more stand up comedy.
A special message from Trevor Noah pic.twitter.com/lMM8ll51fu
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) September 30, 2022
“I spent two years in my apartment, not on the road, you know, stand up was done, and when I got back out there, I realized there’s another part of my life out there that I want to carry on exploring. I miss learning other languages. I miss going to other countries and putting on shows,” Noah said.
He expressed that he’s “grateful” for Comedy Central for hiring him in 2015, saying he was a “random comedian that nobody knew” at the time.
“I never dreamed that I would be here. I sort of feel like ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’ I came here for a tour of what the previous show was and then the next thing you know I was handed the keys,” he said, alluding to replacing long-time host Jon Stewart.
Noah joined fellow late-night hosts in mocking President Trump nightly from 2016 to 2020, going so far as to call the MAGA movement “white ISIS.”
Several of Noah’s contemporaries who also spent the last few years focused on Trump have also recently announced their departures: James Corden announced in April that he’d be stepping away from his CBS show, Samantha Bee announced her show wouldn’t be returning to TBS, and Conan O’Brien announced last year his TBS show was wrapping up.