Roy Wood Jr. leaving ‘The Daily Show’

The stand-up comic announced that he won't return to the weeknight comedy news show next month after not being asked to be its next permanent host.

TheGrio Staff

Oct 5, 2023

“The Daily Show” is about to suffer another big-name departure. Roy Wood Jr., a veteran correspondent on Comedy Central’s late-night comedy news series, is leaving the show after eight years.

The weeknight series is slated to return to the air after the WGA strike caused a long hiatus, according to NPR. It will return to the air next month with new episodes, but Wood will not be among the cast once it does.

Roy Wood Jr. poses for photographers as he arrives to the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April 2022. The comedian has announced he won’t be returning to Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” cast. (Photo by Jose Luis Magana/AP, File)

He explained that one of the reasons that he’s exiting “The Daily Show” is because he was not asked to be its next permanent host. The comic stepped in as a temporary host this year, along with other guest hosts, following the departure of Trevor Noah last December.

“I can’t come up with what Plan B is while still working with Plan A,” Wood said. “The job of correspondent … it’s not really one where you can juggle multiple things. [And] I think eight years is a good run.”

Comedy Central made a brief statement regarding Wood’s decision, calling him a “comedic genius” and a “beloved teammate.”

“We thank him for his time with us,” the network said, “and can’t wait to see what he does next.”

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Noah announced in September 2022 that he was leaving after a seven-year run as host of “The Daily Show.” Since this January, Comedy Central has replaced him with several guest hosts on a week-to-week basis. In addition to Wood — who joined “TDS” as a correspondent as one of Noah’s first hires — Leslie Jones, D.L. Hughley, Marlon Wayans, Wanda Sykes and other notable talents have stepped in and hosted, subsequently auditioning for the full-time role.

Hasan Minhaj, a popular former “Daily Show” correspondent and colleague of Wood, also guest-hosted and emerged as a leading candidate to take over the show permanently.

However, after it was reported that Minhaj fabricated an autobiographical story during one of his stand-up specials, Comedy Central is said to have returned to its candidates list.

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