Roy Wood Jr. Exits 'The Daily Show' As Correspondent

His eight-year run began as a hire of previous host Trevor Noah when he first arrived

The Daily Show is returning to Comedy Central after five and a half months following the Writers Guild of America Strike on October 16. However when it does so it will be down one correspondent. Roy Wood Jr. has announced he has departed the show, over 8 years after debuting when most recent permanent host Trevor Noah, who left last December, debuted in September 2015.

His decision came down to the fact that the fight for a new fair contract went on so long that the show will not be seating a new permanent host until 2024, and he hasn't been offered the gig. Whether anyone has is unknown as much of the field seems to still be in contention but Wood's chosen to move on and figure out his next move instead of staying and working with who he was passed over for.

"I can't come up with Plan B is while still working with Plan A," he says. "The job of correspondent...it's not really one where you can juggle multiple things. [And] I think eight years is a good run." Wood says he is in the dark as to whether he is still under consideration to become host but he has already informed the network of his decision. "What could they really say?" he adds when asked how the cable channel responded. [They're] not going to give me the job just to keep me."

"If you're offered the chance to host The Daily Show at any point in your life...you have to stop for a second and consider that," he adds. While he had not informed the show of his decision, the source seems to have done the job for him as a spokesperson sent this brief 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 was this year's attention-getting host of the White House Correspondents' Dinner, soon after he did his guest host stint on The Daily Show in April, as the show had been utilizing guests hosts all year to the point of the strike and will continue for the rest of the year. Wood's week had the second-best ratings of the show's first 11 guest hosts, second only to Al Franken and beating Hasan Minhaj, the media's reported frontrunner who hit a stumble in recent weeks. Wood had several comedypersons' endorsements to be permanent host.

He says the Variety story about Minhaj, which Comedy Central has not yet publicly confirmed, made him think more about his future on the show. He also believes it and the New Yorker story where Minhaj confesses his standup has contained embellishments and falsehoods, does not weaken or disqualify his (Minhaj's) candidacy. "I think Hasan checks a lot of boxes that the network would want and people would want," Wood remarks. "Hasan's young, he's global and he has the political I.Q."

Some other factors for Wood’s decision as he expressed were what the show, and in fact all of late night, looks like next year, as the cable business changes. Not only has The Daily Show not had a proper lead out series since The Opposition with Jordan Klepper’s cancellation in 2018, but Showtime and TBS have pulled out of the late-night space entirely, and NBC gave the 1:37 slot back to its affiliates after cancelling A Little Late with Lilly Singh in 2021. CBS’s The Late Late Show franchise ended just before the strikes, and currently still has a revival of ex-Comedy Central gameshow At Midnight planned for the slot.

Source: NPR