What’s your view of Trevor Noah’s tenure at the show?

Taking over from Jon Stewart was never going to be easy. Stewart was widely respected for his passionate satirical take downs of US political transgressions and cable news channels. The appeal of successful satirists like him is that they are on the audiences’ side, they articulate citizen concerns and anger on a public stage but in a funny and compelling way. This creates a bond between the satirist and audience and this is why Stewart leaving The Daily Show was such a big deal to his loyal audience.

Noah had to build up that trust with an audience that had no idea who he was. This took some time and viewing figures for the programme took a dip in the first two years. But eventually the audience came to realise that Noah was equally as capable as Stewart if not more so because he was able to offer something different to his predecessor: an outsider’s perspective to America’s political and social problems.

What did he bring to the landscape?

The American late-night comedy scene is very male, white, and American. As a native South African, Noah has brought clarity and fresh perspectives to emotionally charged political issues that are often missing from late-night comedy and American cable news.

But growing up as mixed-race during apartheid also enabled Noah to handle crucial moments like the Black Lives Matter movement with a level of awareness and sensitivity that could never be matched by his white, male counterparts. These unique perspectives have caught the attention of a younger and more diverse global audience that have been introduced to The Daily Show via Noah.

Is political satire on TV as a critical tool on TV increasing or decreasing

American late-night comedy has become a highly saturated space with lots of different programmes vying for the attention of audiences who are leaving TV in favour of digital platforms.

Read more: https://theconversation.com/trevor-noah-is-leaving-the-daily-show-how-did-he-fare-191699