The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: reviews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ2uk5LYn1s

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah has now premiered in the US as South African-born Trevor Noah succeeds the great Jon Stewart. A tall order by anyone’s definition.

“This is surreal,” he continued. “Growing up in the dusty streets of South Africa, I never dreamed that I would one day have, well, two things: an indoor toilet and a job as host of The Daily Show. And now I have both. And I’m quite comfortable with one of them.”

“I can assume that this is as strange for you as it is for me,” he told his audience. “Jon Stewart was more than just a late-night host. He was often our voice, our refuge, and in many ways, our political dad. And it’s weird, because dad has left. And now it feels like the family has a new stepdad – and he’s black. Which is not ideal.”

(Ed: Has Stewart died…?).

Reviews cautious in acknowledging it will take time before they see his charms. But they couldn’t avoid the gleaming teeth.

TIME:
Granted, the show was only the first iteration of a series that, hopefully, will substantially grow beyond Stewart’s influence. But the moments that didn’t talk about Stewart were stripped of any real point-of-view. Noah was erratically scathing at times (making random jokes about AIDS victims and the death of Whitney Houston) and utterly toothless at others. The host cheered himself when he announced his first segment would be about the Pope rather than Syria, and then presented a segment that touched on the Pope’s visit in order to acknowledge that some people had produced novelty Pope-themed emojis and that the Pope drove around in a small car. The Pontiff is a particularly difficult figure of fun. Why the stale news of his visit, news that Noah was unwilling to meaningfully examine, was made into our first look at Noah is confounding from the viewer’s perspective.

Variety:
It all felt like vintage “Daily Show” material, with most of the initial changes appearing to be cosmetic, from a new font to not bleeping certain expletives. As for Noah’s skills as an interviewer, Kevin Hart, frankly, wasn’t the ideal guest to offer much insight regarding those chops, yielding an exchange that was loud and manic, much like the comic’s act. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is slated for Wednesday, which should offer a better sense of the new host in that regard. Much remains to be seen about whether Noah’s youth (he’s 31), race and origins will influence the mix of stories or guests, although after seeing this first episode, the hype about that — and indeed, surrounding the debut in general — has bordered on the absurd. That’s because in the broad strokes Comedy Central looks to have employed an “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach.

Deadline:
Through it all, Noah smiled, and smiled. He smiles large. His guest was Kevin Hart, whose new concert preceded the broadcast. He brought Noah a box of ties. They talked shop a bit about doing stand-up, and Hart sang the praises of the runner’s life. As I said, earnest. A joke about Whitney Houston was DOA, as was a tired play on AIDS versus aids, and still the smile never left Noah’s face even as the words hobbled out and died. He could use a little citrus injection in his responses. “Too soon?” he said after the Houston joke. Nah — too lame. Those teeth need more bite. So the writing and the delivery have a way to go, and how could they not? It was opening night. There were no fatalities.

Newsday:
He had amusing encounters with in-house correspondents like Roy Wood Jr. and Jordan Klepper. Kevin Hart was the first guest — no real problem there either, but no obvious reason why he was the first guest. In fact, Noah’s “Daily Show” at once felt confident but also oddly tentative. Smoothly delivered but uneven . . .Not quite a rocky start, but not an emphatically comforting one for fans either. But if he’s not quite the proxy for Stewart — and his progressive rage — that most viewers want right now, that’s probably OK. Stewart wasn’t Stewart when he began either. It just might be fun to see who Noah eventually becomes.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah premieres 10pm tonight on Comedy