The Daily Show’s Roy Wood Jr. announces he is leaving the Comedy Central program

Comedy Central’s satirical new program, The Daily Show, has yet to find an official replacement for former host Trevor Noah. In lieu of Noah’s exit from the show from last December, there have been a series of temporary hosts filling the booth chair until one is named. Guest hosts of the program included Marlon Wayans, Chelsea Handler, Wanda Sykes and Hasan Minhaj. Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr. was among those who guest-hosted the show and Wood has recently announced that he will be stepping down from the comedy series.

Deadline has revealed that Wood released a statement saying, “After eight amazing years on The Daily Show, where I’ve been able to pursue my comedic and political curiosities with some of the best writers, producers, crew and correspondents anyone could hope for, I’ve made the decision to move on.” He continues, “I’m grateful to Trevor Noah, Paramount and especially Comedy Central for giving me the runway to also produce three one-hour stand-up specials, for letting me host two award-winning podcasts, letting me write & shoot my own comedy pilot, write a film, and much, much more. I look forward to finding other ways to collaborate with them down the road.”

Wood would conclude his statement by looking to the future of his career, “Until then, I am excited to nurture new ideas and see what the future holds for me in the shifting sands of late-night television, scripted comedy, and whatever else the comedy gods may have in store for me in 2024 and beyond.”

A representative for The Daily Show would respond in their own statement, “Roy Wood Jr is a comedic genius and beloved teammate. His insights and hilarity helped us make sense of the 2016 election, the pandemic, and countless hours of Fox News. We thank him for his time with us and can’t wait to see what he does next.” 

Wood had earned a bevy of positive reviews for his recent gig as the featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Although he has stepped down, the recent events of the writers’ strike paused the production of talk shows that included The Daily Show. Wood has been keeping busy on the road as he travels on his stand-up comedy tour, the Happy to be Here Tour, which he is currently on. Now that the WGA strike has settled, The Daily Show is set to make a return on October 16 with temp hosts. The program is not expected to name the new host until 2024.