Trevor Noah’s decision to leave The Daily Show in December was a shock to everyone, especially his co-workers.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, on a recent appearance on The Daily Beast’s The Last Laugh podcast, The Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr. explained that despite his very small part in Noah’s exit plans, he heard the news the same time as the rest of us. In these situations, talk instantly turns to who’s going to take over the job and one of the first names fans have thrown into the conversation is Wood Jr. He admitted that if the offer were presented to him, he would definitely think about it.
“If you’re asked, you have to at least consider it. You can’t say no to an opportunity like that,” he said. “You can’t turn your nose up at it, at least. I think you have to sit and assess what you want to do creatively, and that’s something I haven’t thought about yet.”
The comedian explained that on a franchise like The Daily Show, you can’t make a ton of major changes to the structure. He compared it to a car, saying that the chassis and basic model can’t be reworked. However, he added that if he were asked to be the new host, he would consider what small modifications he could make.
“You have to sit and assess what you would do creatively. That’s something I haven’t thought about yet. How would I design the car? Would I put some Fast & Furious neon lights on it? And figuring out creatively if that makes sense,” Wood Jr. said.
He also wondered what it would be like to stay on as a correspondent if he weren’t the host and more than anything, Roy would just want to feel like he was still doing creative, interesting segments.
“It would depend on the host. It would depend on the creative direction of the show,” he. said. “What are you trying to do? How do I fit into that? And does that creative direction fit my comedic skill sets and give me an opportunity to show who I am?”
“I’ve never been told no when it was a weird thing that you might not think has humor,” he added. “So I would want to make sure that whatever I’m doing on television—and this is Daily Show and beyond—I want to make sure that it’s something that equates to the things I find funny, and the things that I’m curious about.”
Trevor Noah’s last episode of The Daily Show airs Thursday, Dec. 8, then it returns with new episodes on Tuesday, Jan. 17, so it might be a little while before Comedy Central announces a new host, but Roy Wood Jr. should absolutely be a serious contender for the job.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs weeknights at 11 p.m. on Comedy Central and is available the next day on Paramount+.