Top 10 late night TV comedians, ranked from worst to best

6. Trevor Noah (The Daily Show)

The South African comic Trevor Noah had a hell of a challenge ahead of him when he signed on to host The Daily Show. For many years, the show had built a solid reputation, becoming one of the top “news” programs to see every night. Under the leadership of Jon Stewart, the show soared to success and was always compelling television.

All good things must come to an end, however, and the time had come for Stewart to retire. No matter who would step in to replace him, they were going to have a hard road ahead. Ultimately, Comedy Central with Noah, rolling the dice on his comic potential as he hadn’t had much TV experience yet.

With all of this in mind… Trevor Noah is not doing a bad job at all. His comedy style is completely unlike Stewart’s, which helps to separate the two — trying to mimic Stewart never would have worked. Noah has also proven himself to be just as charming and likable as he is intelligent and funny. In retrospect, he was a solid replacement for Stewart, though time will ultimately have to tell if he can build up a legacy that can match his mentor’s.