10 pioneers who cross boundaries, forge new paths, take their crafts to unexpected places and also improve the world.
SOUTH AFRICA
Trevor Noah Seriously funny
By Eliana Dockterman
Trevor Noah wasn’t supposed to be here. Before the 33-year-old South African comedian took over hosting The Daily Show in 2015, the list of obvious successors to Jon Stewart included alumni of the show Samantha Bee, Stephen Colbert and John Oliver as well as Saturday Night Live veterans Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Chris Rock. “It was ridiculous. There was no way I expected to get it,” Noah recalls, sitting in an office above The Daily Show’s studio, now his studio, on the edge of midtown Manhattan.
And yet Comedy Central made the risky choice to install a host little known in America but famous around the world in hopes of reaching young people, especially international young people. His debut wasn’t exactly smooth for an audience used to 16 years of Stewart. “When I started, there was a lot of criticism around me not being angry. But what was there to be angry about? Progress was being made. Unemployment was dropping. Gay people were getting marriage equality. I refuse to be a part of an outrage machine,” Noah says, pausing. “And then Donald Trump was elected.”
In the months since, Comedy Central’s bet on finding a more global audience for The Daily Show has begun to pay off. Noah’s viewership has yet to reach that of Stewart’s last season, but the network says international viewership has risen drastically since Noah’s debut. (The show is now watched in 176 countries, up from around 70 before.) “Donald Trump has made everyone interested in everything, everywhere. He’s a worldwide phenomenon,” says Noah. “And with everything that’s going on—the Muslim ban, threats to women’s rights, the environment—I feel like I can finally say the show has a purpose.”
This story is from the March 13,2017 edition of Time.
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This story is from the March 13,2017 edition of Time.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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