Trevor Noah shocked the world in the final days of September, when he announced his plans to walk away from The Daily Show at some unspecified point in the future. More recently, it has emerged that the comedian reportedly surprised even his bosses at Comedy Central, who are said to have had no idea about his plan prior to his announcement.
Noah has been at the helm of the satirical news program since 2015, when he took over from his predecessor and anointer, Jon Stewart. With the confirmation of his departure, the speculation has already started as to who might be a possible replacement for him.
His correspondents Roy Wood Jr., Desi Lydic and Ronny Chieng are among those mooted for the job. From the outside, potential candidates include Hassan Minhaj, Amber Ruffin and Samantha Bee.
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In his time on The Daily Show, Noah has risen to the top of the pile as the highest earning late-night talk show host, even eclipsing former king of late-night salaries, Stephen Colbert. Among many other endeavors, this has helped the Johannesburg-born star to amass a net worth of $100 million. But just how much money is he walking away from at The Daily Show?
How Much Has Trevor Noah Been Earning From The Daily Show?
When Jon Stewart picked Trevor Noah to succeed him on The Daily Show, the comedian is said to have signed a contract worth $8 million a year to take the job. That is already an impressive salary in its own right, but as the ratings soared with Noah leading the way, Comedy Central bumped it up considerably.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the new contract that the comedian signed was worth $16 million a year, which is what he earns from the show at the moment. That deal was sealed in late 2017, and tied the star down until the 2024-25 season.
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It is unclear how much of the remainder of his contract that Noah intends to honor. It is unlikely, however, that he would have made the announcement about his exit now, only to go on and stay for another three years. If, as expected, he walks in the coming months, Noah will be forfeiting anywhere between $32 million and $48 million from his voided contract.
What Does Trevor Noah Intend To Do When He Leaves The Daily Show?
“[Hosting The Daily Show has] been absolutely amazing, it’s something I never expected. I found myself thinking about the time – everything we’ve gone through: the Trump presidency, the pandemic, the journey of… more pandemic, and I realized that after seven years, my time is up,” Trevor Noah said when announcing his upcoming departure to his live audience.
“I’ve loved hosting the show, it’s been one of my greatest challenges, it’s been one of my greatest joys,” he continued. The comedian is an ardent traveler around the world, and has carried on performing stand-up even during his stint on The Daily Show.
As well as hosting comedy tours in various parts of the world, Noah has also hosted a total of three stand-up specials in a deal with Netflix. These are some of the things that he explained in his farewell statement that he intended to focus on again.
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“When I got back out there [after the COVID lockdown], I realized there was another part of my life that I wanted to carry on exploring. I miss learning other languages, I miss going to other countries and putting on shows,” Noah said.
Could Trevor Noah Also Start Acting More?
One element of Trevor Noah’s career that he has not explored as much is his acting. The 38-year-old featured in a few movie roles in his native South Africa before relocating to New York for The Daily Show. But even with his busy schedule on the program and beyond, he did not completely stop acting.
Noah played an understated, but important role in Black Panther, where he voiced an AI program within the military infrastructure of Wakanda. In 2021, he also appeared as a news network anchor in the fictional nation of Zamunda in Eddie Murphy’s Coming 2 America.
The path from late-night to the big screen is not that well trodden. In fact, Bill Maher, Ellen DeGeneres, Whoopi Goldberg and Jimmy Fallon are examples of actors who went the other way. James Corden has done both jobs, but often concurrently.
Still, while audiences are unlikely to see Noah become a regular movie star, his exit from The Daily Show leaves him a lot more time for such work, if he so desires.
