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.

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BREAKING. South African comedian Trevor Noah taking over The Daily Show on Comedy Central from Jon Stewart.

Later today Comedy Central (DStv 122) will name South African comedian Trevor Noah as the replacement host for The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122) The New York Times reports.

After only three appearances since December on The Daily Show, the Viacom pay-TV channel will announce that Trevor Noah is taking over as the new host in the place of Jon Stewart who announced his retirement last month. Jon Stewart's contract ends in September.

News leaked over the weekend that Trevor Noah was the frontrunner to replace Stewart.

Before appearing on The Daily Show since December, 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.

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.

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.

Trevor Noah's appointed as new host of The Daily Show comes after only three appearances on the satirical news show.

"I'm thrilled for the show and for Trevor," Jon Stewart says in a statement. "He is a tremendous comic and talent that we've loved working with. I may rejoin as a correspondent just to be a part of it!"

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.

Programming note: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report on Comedy Central becoming sameday broadcasts in South Africa.

In a great programming move, Comedy Central (DStv 122) is moving up both of its signal shows, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report to day-after broadcasts in South Africa from tomorrow, Wednesday 6 June.

South African viewers as well as those in the rest of Africa will now be able to see the latest episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report within 24 hours of broadcast, after Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) worked to close the gap.

Where The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Mondays to Thursdays at 19:40) and The Colbert Report (Mondays to Thursdays at 20:05) was a week and a day behind the American version of Comedy Central since the channel launched in South Africa in December 2011.

The programming move is a major improvement for Comendy Central in South African and Africa half a year since the channel launched, with references, jokes and interviews with news makers in a very fast-moving news cycle, now applicable and current (and funny) and actually topical for when it's actually news.

"The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are cutting edge comedy programmes that keep viewers glued to their seats by satirizing and dissecting current affairs," says Evert van der Veer, head of comedy: Africa at VIN Africa.

"We're thrilled that audiences in Africa will be able to access episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report within just a few hours of their American premiere, ensuring that the genius of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert is delivered alive and kicking to their TV sets."

Programming note: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report on Comedy Central a week and a day behind America.

The pattern has now been established: Both The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report on the new Comedy Central (DStv 122) has episodes broadcast in South Africa and Africa a week and a day behind America.

The Colbert Report is meanwhile already in repeat mode on Comedy Central only two days after the channel started.

Tonight's episode (Thursday) of The Colbert Report was a rebroadcast of Tuesday's episode when Comedy Central launched in South Africa, although numerous earlier episodes from November would have been available for play-out and could have been substituted by MTV Networks International who runs the channel.

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