The New ‘Daily Show’ is Here: Farewell, Dad

It is time to get over the reality that America’s dad, Jon Stewart, has left. Not only that, he left us with a kid to take over his legacy—and a South African one for that matter. This among other self deprecating jokes paying homage to Stewart’s legacy gave a quick start to Trevor Noah’s tenure as new host of ‘The Daily Show,’ but can he make a legacy of his own?Comparing Noah to Stewart, nine out of ten “The Daily Show” fanatics and casual viewers alike most likely revert to believing nobody will be able to be as profound of a political comic as Stewart. As that may be, looking back to Stewart’s first episode sixteen years ago it was full of bits and techniques from his predecessor Craig Kilborne that today are irrelevant to Stewart’s version of the show. Noah is still replicating many of Stewart’s trademarks such as his ‘reporters,’ quick digs on political figures and overall mannerisms. In short, two weeks of episodes are not going to reveal Noah’s full potential or the direction of “The Daily Show,” developing a new voice for the show will, unfortunately, take time.As for the first week of shows Noah came out strong, hosting a wide range of guests from comedian Kevin Hart to Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie and musician Ryan Adams. Interviews with celebrities may draw in an audience but Noah’s conversation with Chris Christie was the standout interview of the week. Getting to the show’s political roots, Noah expertly navigated through Christie’s political facade asking hard hitting questions.At one point in the interview Noah asked Christie about his plan for biometric immigration tracking, which is Christie’s plan to track foreigners on visas by fingerprint verification. Essentially, if a person does not have a visa or legality to be in the United States, a quick scan of a finger and a computer will have this person’s records to be able to tell if they are legally allowed to do things such as rent a car or buy a house. The overhead and cost of this project has caused skepticism from Christie’s critics, but on the “The Daily Show” he quickly regained his footing on the issue stating, “It’s a lot less expensive than a 2,000 mile wall across the southern border.” He quickly added, “how about that.”If Noah is able to consistently get interviews and responses of this caliber from his guests, the transition will certainly be smoother as he gains respect from devout Stewart fans. That’s not to say the transition will be easy; Noah still needs help reading cue cards and over the past week he botched several jokes due to poor timing and his lack of experience as a television host. It would be unrealistic not to expect this throughout the first few shows; Jimmy Fallon could not get through a sketch on “Saturday Night Live” without laughing for almost the entirety of his time on the show, yet today he holds the highest rated late night television show on air. It’s all right, Noah, we all have to start somewhere.As noted by Noah in his opening show, possibly the biggest difference between him and Stewart is his race. With the dramatic turnover in late night hosts this year, possibly the biggest difference seen is the diversity of the new hosts. Noah joins Larry Wilmore representing blacks with late night comedy shows while John Oliver and James Corden bring British flare to the American late night industry. The Jimmys are close to the only traditional white male comedians left, and for many viewers the added diversity is a welcome change. Keeping with American tradition, there are still skeptics that believe television networks are overcompensating with their diverse choice of hosts, but for those people it is time to realize white America doesn’t have to make the jokes anymore—in fact they are the joke.So what is the truth, how does Noah fair against his current late night competition and expectations to continue the heritage of “The Daily Show?” At this point it is early to predict the show’s success, but it is definitely noted that unless the jokes get better, lines quicker and guests bigger, the show has low potential. Noah is off to a slow start, and his wit is quick, but it is going to take time for the world to get used to evening’s without their favorite angry Jew yelling at congress to pull their act together.Noah’s start may be slow, but so was his competitor Stephen Colbert, who took over for David Letterman last month. While Colbert came into “Late Night” with all eyes watching, he failed to overcome his nightly competitors, even with the stigma and reputation he gained from the exceptionally popular “Colbert Report.” So once again, the first week of shows means little for the overall success and future of a late night program.The critical political comedy that Americans thrive on after a day of work and the realization that the world may be deteriorating as they know it has not left the “The Daily Show” and, if anything, has been revitalized by the new young South African host, writers and cast members. The first week of shows did not have the world raving about how amazing Noah is, but frankly most people are still in the denial stage of grief associated with the retirement of Jon Stewart. There is no doubt Noah has a new edge and perspective that, once acceptance among the American population has set in, will distinguish “The Daily Show” from it’s competitors. So do not fear my fellow “The Daily Show” enthusiasts; Dad left us in good hands.