Hasan Minhaj should be named host of “The Daily Show”
As comedians compete for the job, Minhaj stands out, by far, as best candidate
CJ Rivera/Invision/AP Newsroom
A former guest host of The Daily Show, Hasan Minhaj’s comedic style and show experience best fit the role for the new permanent host
Last September, Trevor Noah announced that he would step down as host of “The Daily Show” after seven years. Now, seven months later, Comedy Central has yet to name a permanent host, instead having a new guest host each week for the foreseeable future.
After I was introduced to him, I looked on the internet for every ounce of content he created, as I have Minhaj fever.
To me, this is a tryout that has attracted fierce competition, with Chelsea Handler and Kal Penn (who were guest hosts) publicly announcing that they want the job. However, none from this pool of talent can compete with Hasan Minhaj, a veteran of “The Daily Show.”
Minhaj was guest host of “The Daily Show” for the week of Feb. 27, 2023, and that was when I was introduced to him. From the start, I was hooked on his comedic style.
It was around 7:15 am on a school day. While eating my classic PBJ and scrolling through the news, I was lucky to come across a video of Minhaj from the previous night. It was nothing like I had ever seen before.
For nine minutes and thirty-one seconds, he ranted about how Twitter users, not Elon Musk, ruined Twitter. As he yelled, he was able to make us laugh while taking on the issues with informed passion He ended by deactivating his Twitter account, announcing, “I am free!”
From 2018 to 2020, Minhaj hosted “Patriot Act,” which aired every Sunday on Netflix. It won him a Peabody Award and an Emmy for outstanding motion design, which I am not surprised by.
After I was introduced to him, I looked on the internet for every ounce of content he created, as I have Minhaj fever. He can take any topic, such as affirmative action, the two sides of Canada, and, my personal favorite, the importance of local journalism, to inform us on global issues, politics, and culture in a way that we do not end up feeling rotten to the core, similar to Stephen Colbert, but with an eccentric flair.
Some critics, on the other hand, are not on my side.
On Mar. 22, Jason Zinoman, the comedy critic for the New York Times, proposed that “The Daily Show” keep the guest host format as a way to maintain interest and capture a wide audience, similar to “Saturday Night Live.”
I don’t think that’s a good idea. At the end of the school day, I just want consistency. I want to know who I’m watching. That can only happen when Comedy Central names a permanent host.
These past few weeks, I haven’t been able to get through a whole episode of “The Daily Show” because many of the guest hosts do not appease my sense of humor. This has made me very upset because I want to enjoy “The Daily Show” and watch it every weekday.
Before I knew about Minhaj, Kal Penn was my pick to host “The Daily Show.”
Penn was fantastic as Seth Wright, the White House Press Secretary, on “Designated Survivor,” as he combined his love for public service and acting. From 2009 to 2011, he worked in the Obama administration.
Penn, who hosted the week of Mar. 13, started out the week by interviewing President Joe Biden. Former U.S. Sen. Al Franken also interviewed a famous politician, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.
These interviews put Penn and Franken in the news because they interviewed famous people, not because they were funny.
Minhaj, on the other hand, made the news because, in his Twitter skit, he was, purely, hysterical. He knows how to make himself relevant, and as host, he would make “The Daily Show” relevant.
