By Joseph Green-Bishop
Texas Metro News Correspondent
Two of the most accomplished female comedians in America are being considered to succeed Trevor Noah, the former South African host of the Daily Show who resigned in December of 2022 to pursue full-time standup comedy, according to sources.
If selected by Comedy Central, a cable channel owned by Paramount Media, to fill the slot that Mr. Noah vacated, veteran comedians Wanda Sykes or Leslie Jones would become the first African American female to host a nationally-televised late-night comedy program in broadcast history.
In addition to Ms. Sykes and Ms. Jones, other comedians are scheduled to host the show for three days to see how late night audiences respond. Ms. Jones hosted the show for three days from January 17 until the 20. Ms. Sykes had her opportunity from January 23 to January 26.
Ms. Jones was a regular on ‘Saturday Night Live’, the popular comedy show that appears Saturday nights on NBC. She also starred in the movie Ghostbusters and has received excellent reviews as host of ‘Supermarket Sweep’, an ABC production that features contestants in a supermarket seeking to purchase higher priced items than their competitors.
An Emmy Award winner for comedy writing, Ms. Sykes was named in 2004 one of the top 25 comedians in the United States by Entertainment Weekly. She started as a comic in Washington, D.C. She was featured in the film ‘Pootie Tang’ and has numerous television credits as a performer and writer . She has co- hosted the Academy Awards, and starred in ‘The Upshaws,’ a Netflix comedy television program.
At its height the Daily Show attracted as many as 1.3 million viewers nightly, according to data from Nielsen, a company that measures television audiences and ratings. Mr. Noah began hosting the show in 2015. He succeeded Jon Stewart, one of late-night television’s most popular personalities, who recommended that Mr. Noah replace him.
Others under consideration to become the show’s permanent host include comedians Sarah Silverman, Chelsea Handler, Hasan Minhaj, D.L Hughley, Kal Penn and Marlon Wayans. The former comedian who became a United States Senator from Minnesota, Al Franken, is also being considered, according to those close to the selection process.
