Final episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central on DStv to be an hour long, star-studded finale with celebrity guests.

Jon Stewart will bow out with his final The Daily Show on Thursday night in America with the special longer episode of 52 minutes which will be broadcast on Comedy Central (DStv 122) in South Africa on Friday night at 21:00.

On Thursday night in South Africa viewers can see Louis CK as the penultimate guest on The Daily Show with what will be a star-studded line-up of guests on Friday night in a super-sized finale.

Besides a crush of celebrities expected to appear in the final episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, its highly likely that there will be appearances by several American late-night talk show hosts as well as the numerous former "correspondents" who ended up in their own spin-offs and hosting their own shows.

The final episode will run double the usual half hour show's duration as the fake newsman extraordinaire  and America's beloved "skeptical idealist" says goodbye after 16 years.

It's also highly likely that South Africa's Trevor Noah will appear as Jon Stewart symbolically pass the baton to his on-screen successor.

"Jon Stewart's departure marks the end of an extraordinary chapter in political satire," says Evert van der Veer, the head of Comedy Central Africa.

"While we are sad to see Jon go, his departure paves the way for a whole new era of The Daily Show, and we look forward to seeing a brand-new incarnation of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah at the helm".

The South African comedian who has relocated to New York, will debut as the new host of The Daily Show on 28 September in the United States, with his first episode which will be seen a day later on Comedy Central on Tuesday 29 September at 21:00 in the same timeslot.

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 22 April 2015.

Deplorable. A subscriber of Sky's satellite pay-TV service struggles for 90 minutes to cancel.
Sky operator simply refuses to help him; focuses on attention of how pay-TV subscribers of Sky struggle to cancel their contracts.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng wants SABC to make doccies to unite Africa.
After the xenophobic violence rocking South Africa, the SABC's famously matricless chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng says the SABC will now make documentaries "to sensitise the nation" and dramas to promote unity among Africans.

Meanwhile Hlaudi Motsoeneng was in Cape Town to meet with advertisers and investors of the SABC. "You need to ask those difficult questions," Hlaudi Motsoeneng tells advertisers.

Paramount Television is working on a TV series spin-off of the movie Galaxy Quest.
The film spoof will likely become a new TV series.

Held against her will in hotel and prevented from calling her family?
The Sunday Times reports that the Big Brother Mzansi contestant who was allegedly raped in the Endemol Shine Africa and Mzansi Magic reality show has been kept against her will, allegedly, in a hotel and she allegedly "sneaked" in a call and told a family member she was told not to talk to "the outside world".

Nominations asked for 2 new SABC board members.
Apparently the 2 recently fired SABC board members Rachel Kalidass and Ronnie Lubisi by minister Faith Muthambi using the Companies Act instead of the Broadcasting Act, are really fired.

Jon Stewart's will say farewell on The Daily Show on 6 August.
The Daily Show host on Comedy Central (DStv 122) will say goodbye on 6 August after which the show will go on holiday and Trevor Noah will take over sometime in September only when the new American TV season starts.

Full House revival as Fuller House gets picked up for 13 episodes.
Fuller House will be shown on Netflix with most of the original cast returning.

Dramatic global growth fro Netflix.
Netflix had 16.8 million paid subscribers at the end of 2014 across the world.

KwaZulu-Natal actors feel entitled to get roles in SABC1's telenovela Uzalo.
Angry KwaMashu actors who are from the township where the show is filmed say they feel its their right to be in it.

Two men were arrested for stealing from the SABC News' crew in Durban covering the xenophobic violence.

"Faketopia": A drunk producer stumbles into Germany's Utopia and gives contestants directions.
Drunk producer fired after scandal, production company says contestants are never told what to say or do or what stories to act out in the reality show and that the "incident was due to human error".

Creator of the Teletubbies warns about a funding crisis with kids' television.
Says traditions of producing great children's content are being eroded; warns about a crisis in the funding of the United Kingdom's children's content on TV and a "North American mono-culture creeping over everywhere".

Patrick Dempsey might be out of Grey's Anatomy.
The actor has allegedly turned into "a diva" behind-the-scenes at the longrunning medical drama infuriating creator Shonda Rhimes.

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 1 April 2015.

The backlash in America against South Africa's Trevor Noah has started one day after he was announced as the new host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122).

Trevor Noah's social media became a beating stick as people scoured through his Twitter feed - as far back as 2009 -for messages offensive to women and Jews. 
Some more of Trevor Noah's offensive Twitter messages and Comedy Central had to do damage control on Tuesday, calling criticism of Trevor Noah "unfair" and saying that Trevor Noah "has a bright future at Comedy Central".
Why did Trevor Noah become a villain and why did people turn on him so quickly? Should Trevor Noah be held to a higher standard? Trevor Noah finally says it was "jokes that didn't land".

Ad Age says the outrage won't bring down Trevor Noah in its opinion and Variety says Comedy Central should defend Trevor Noah's right to offend.
Meanwhile the younger Trevor Noah could perhaps reverse the aging audience of Comedy Central and The Daily Show.
And how Trevor Noah got The Daily Show job - Jon Stewart played an advisory role.


South African documentary producer drags Sabido and e.tv to the broadcasting regulator.
The Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (Icasa) will hear on 9 and 10 April a fascinating case from documentary producer Kevin Harris alleging that Sabido and e.tv are not fulfilling their broadcasting licence obligations when it comes to supporting the production of independent local documentaries.


Downton Abbey bosses tried to keep the show going...
... without creator and writer Julian Fellowes. TV executives wanted the ITV drama shown on BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) to continue for longer and further than the final 6th upcoming season this year.

We can interfere with South Africa and the media's freedom of speech says parliament speaker, Baleka Mbete.
The controversial speaker of parliament has the audacity to argue in court papers that parliament has the "right" to cut broadcasts of the TV feed because because disruptions will damage the "dignity" of parliament.

eNCA (DStv 403) set to fire 40 people.
Forty people at Sabido's 24-hour TV news channel are apparently going to lose their jobs.

The SABC to hear the case against its head of news Jimi Matthews.
After Jimi Matthews allegedly assaulted a female SABC employee there's now a date for the grievance procedure and possible disciplinary process.

The arrival of Netflix in Australia is bad for pay-TV subscribers there.
A price comparison site reveals the best TV shows are already exclusively being shown on other pay-TV providers, and video-on-demand (VOD) services could damage Australia's TV and film industries.

And how Netflix is growing - could be worth a massive $100 billion.

Is Sherlock on BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) gay?
TV series creator Steven Moffat says that Sherlock is not gay and not interested in sex.

Nigerians now want to ditch DStv after MultiChoice's price hike from April.
DStv subscribers in Nigeria are furious over the price increase and blame the government for "failing to call MultiChoice Nigeria to order".

Richard Hammond and James May no longer work for the BBC.
After the BBC fired Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear on BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) the other two co-presenters are now out of their Top Gear job as well.

Meanwhile the Top Gear Live world tours - including the one in South Africa - will now drop all references to Top Gear and be rebranded and known as Clarkson, Hammond and May Live as it is stripped of all BBC branding by BBC Worldwide.

Comedy Central Africa on Trevor Noah taking over The Daily Show from Jon Stewart: 'An extraordinary milestone for African comedy'.

Comedy Central Africa (DStv 122) run by Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa" calls South African Trevor Noah's appointment as the new host of The Daily Show taking over from Jon Stewart "an extraordinary milestone for African comedy".

Viacom's Comedy Central today officially announced Trevor Noah as the new host of The Daily Show after news leaked over the weekend that Trevor Noah was the frontrunner to replace Jon Stewart when he retires in September.

"When you hear that a South African comedian is going to replace Jon Stewart as the host of the most trusted satirical comedy show in the world,you know it's a great day for Trevor Noah and an extraordinary milestone for African comedy," says Evert van der Veer, the head of Comedy Central Africa in a statement on Monday afternoon.

"Supporting African comedians and comedy has been one of the key tenets of Comedy Central Africa since we started, and we salute Trevor's achievement with pride on our hearts and a tear in our eye," says Evert van der Veer.

Comedy Central says the debut date of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah is not yet certain.

"Trevor Noah is an enormous talent," says Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless in a statement.

"For the next host of The Daily Show we set out to find a fresh voice who can speak to our audience with a keen take on the events of the day, and we found that in Trevor. He has a huge international following and is poised to explode here in America, and we are thrilled to have him join Comedy Central".

In the statement Trevor Noah says "it's an honour to follow Jon Stewart. He and the team at The Daily Show have created an incredible show whose impact is felt all over the world. In my brief time with the show they've made me feel so welcome. I'm excited to get started and work with such a fantastic group of people."

Trevor Noah who appeared on The Daily Show for the first time in December and has made two other appearances since, has been the subject of David Paul Meyer's award-winning documentary film You Laugh But It's True which tells the story of his comedy career in post-apartheid South Africa.

Trevor Noah's Nationwide Comedy Tour has just been added by MultiChoice to DStv's DStv BoxOffice video-on-demand service.

The Hollywood trade publication Variety called Trevor Noah "a South African comedian with a low profile in the United States" and The Hollywood Reporter said that "the search to find a successor has been complicated by the fact that many of the presumed top choices have recently signed onto new shows that prevent them from taking the gig".

BREAKING. Trevor Noah the frontrunner to replace Jon Stewart on The Daily Show on Comedy Central.

The South African comedian Trevor Noah is the frontrunner set to replace Jon Stewart on the satirical The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122) later this year.

Jon Stewart announced his retirement last month from Comedy Central’s signature show; his current contract is set to expire in September.

Trevor Noah has now emerged as the frontrunner to replace Stewart, although he only made his first appearance on The Daily Show as a hapless senior international correspondent on 4 December 2014.

Before that Trevor Noah appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2013, and early in 2012 became the first South African comedian and “first African comedian” to appear and do stand-up on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. His Showtime channel stand-up special, Trevor Noah: African American was broadcast in 2013.

Comedy Central says "we are not commenting or providing guidance on any speculation about any individuals".

According to sources Viacom's Comedy Central wants a new host for The Daily Show "who is not another white guy".

Although Trevor Noah on The Daily Show plays an uninformed American, clueless of international events and is seen as African-American, his mother is South African and his father is Swiss.

The Hollywood trade publication Variety reports "Comedy Central's selection process has accelerated in recent days" according to Viacom executives and that Trevor Noah "has moved to a short list being put together by executives".

Noah, repped by Creative Artists Agency in America, previous did his own local talk show, Tonight with Trevor Noah on M-Net from August 2010 which lasted two seasons. His Nationwide Comedy Tour has just been added by MultiChoice to DStv's DStv BoxOffice video-on-demand service.

Jon Stewart leaving The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central later in 2015 after 16 years.

Jon Stewart of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central (DStv 122) has announced that he is leaving the show after 16 years later in 2015.

Jon Stewart's current contract with Comedy Central ends in September and he told his Daily Show studio audience on Tuesday that his final appearance "might be December, might be July".

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart first became available to South African and African audiences three years ago when MultiChoice added Viacom International Media Networks Africa's (VIMN Africa) Comedy Central Africa channel to the DStv satellite pay-TV platform in December 2011, together with The Colbert Report.

An emotional Jon Stewart, who is also the executive producer of the show, apparently close to tears, told his Daily Show studio audience that "I don't have any specific plans. Got a lot of ideas. I got a lot of things in my head. I’m going to have dinner on a school night with my family, who I have heard from multiple sources are lovely people."

During Jon Stewart's reign as anchor of The Daily Show, the satirical programme has won 20 Emmy Awards.

Stephen Colbert who appeared on The Daily Show as a character got his own spin-off in The Colbert Report, as did John Oliver who was a correspondent on The Daily Show and then got his own satirical news show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver seen on M-Net (DStv 101) and which will return for its new second season very soon on M-Net after it just started in America.

In a statement Comedy Central in the United States says "Through his unique voice and vision, The Daily Show has become a cultural touchstone for millions of fans and an unparalleled platform for political comedy that will endure for years to come".

"Jon will remain at the helm of The Daily Show until later this year. He is a comic genius, generous with his time and talent, and will always be a part of the Comedy Central family".

Jon Stewart's exit will sting Comedy Central.

There's a growing Comedy Central crisis: The channel has lost several well-known and loved faces in quick succession. Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and now Jon Stewart whose absence has been steadily draining Comedy Central from must-watch reasons to watch the channel.

The Daily Show will continue but there's been no announcement on who will be replacing Jon Stewart on the show.

BREAKING. Jon Stewart taking a break from The Daily Show on Comedy Central, John Oliver to take over.

Jon Stewart from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central (DStv 122) is taking a break from the satirical news show, with John Oliver who will take over.

Jon Stewart is leaving The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for 12 weeks (4 months) to direct a movie.

For eight of those weeks John Oliver will be the guest presenter for new episodes; the other 4 weeks will be repeat episodes on Comedy Central.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert both extend their contracts with Comedy Central for 2 more years.

Jon Stewart of The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report both on Comedy Central (DStv 122), have extended their contracts with the satellite comedy TV channel to 2015 and 2014 respectively.

Jon Stewart will remain the executive producer, writer and host of The Daily Show until the middle of 2015 in a further 2 year extension. Stephen Colbert will remain the executive producer, writer and host of The Colbert Report until 2014 in a further 2 year contract extension. The Colbert Report is also produced by Jon Stewart's company.

Both shows have just received four Emmy nominations.