American actor with Indian descent Kal Penn will be replacing Trevor Noah as the host of The Daily Show. According to reports, Penn is in the running to replace Trevor Noah as host of The Daily Show.
Penn, who hosted the show as a guest host March 13-16, is among four leading candidates who could be tapped as a permanent host, including Hasan Minaj, according to a source close to the decision-making process.
The late-night Comedy Central program has been seeking a permanent host to replace Noah since he left The Daily Show in December 2022.
The show has been cycling through various guest hosts, including a slew of celebrities from February to March before TDS correspondents and contributors like Roy Wood Jr., Desi Lydic and Jordan Klepper took over hosting for subsequent months.
The rotating hosts also benefitted the show ratings-wise, as The Daily Show saw a 21 per cent boost in ratings from January to mid-April 2023 when compared to the same weeks last year.
Penn and Minhaj were among the first wave of celebrities who guest hosted the show alongside Leslie Jones, Wanda Sykes, D L Hughley, Chelsea Handler, Sarah Silverman, Marlon Wayans, Al Franken and John Leguizamo.