Trevor Noah’s Next Act? A Spotify Original Podcast

CANNES, France—The Daily Show's former frontman Trevor Noah is a lot of things. Comedian. Grammys host. New York Times bestseller. Political commentator. Nonprofit founder. And now, podcaster. The South African-born talent has just inked an exclusive deal with Spotify to host a weekly show that will blend his signature razor-sharp wit, with the global perspective that has earned him late night virality over the years. The as-yet unnamed series will launch later in 2023, featuring in-depth and “freewheeling” conversations between Noah and influential figures from around the world. In a previous life, he sat across from celebrities including Anna Kendrick, John Legend and Oprah, but his new venture is less about star-dusted interviews and more about experiencing life through the filters of the people shaping our society. “I’m not trying to make a podcast about news, or a podcast about interviews,” he said. “I want to have interesting conversations with everyone;” that includes athletes, doctors, scientists, actors, performers and people, who, “beyond what they are, make for great conversations.” He said he will be intentional in creating something "as many people enjoy as possible," designed with a global audience in mind. Existing in a 'timeless, beautiful space' Noah left his post as The Daily Show host at the end of 2022, going out on a high to explore different avenues. After he took over from Jon Stewart in 2015, he made the top job his own by appealing to audiences through newsy, sometimes irreverent monologues that were quickly cut into online clips and millennial observations that younger audiences could relate to. A foreign observer who had relocated to the U.S. from Johannesburg in 2011 and the only host of color on late night TV, the presenter and producer proudly brought an “outsider” perspective to a format on the verge of going stale. He’s no stranger to the mic. After a cameo role on the South African soap opera Isidingo, he cut his teeth in radio with his own slot, “Noah’s Arc,” on Gauteng-based youth radio station YFM. He’s looking forward to returning to those roots: “I’ve always missed that side of creating. Television is so visual, and there’s obviously an auditory element, but a podcast blends so many worlds and can take [listeners] on so many journeys. Some of my favorite experiences have come from driving in the car, listening to a podcast that either takes me through history or inside someone else’s mind,” he said.“Sometimes radio is about keeping people listening, and TV is dictated by structure, but podcasts live in a beautiful space where they can ebb and flow where they need to," he said, adding that the "timeless" nature of the medium appealed to him too. He wants his new show's brand partnerships to be be "segmented" and authentic: "The goal will be to find brands who understand that they're speaking and working with human beings. They need to be creative, and want to explore more than an obvious hard sell." A perfect fit Spotify's Julie McNamara, the vp who heads up its global podcast studios, admitted the company had been trying to court Noah "long before" he left The Daily Show, but the multi-hyphenate presenter—who is currently in the midst of a global comedy tour—wanted to focus on one project at a time. A chance meeting at the start of the year between Noah and Spotify's head of cultural partnerships, Xavier “X” Jernigan, where the pair switched numbers, opened up the conversation. Noah was impressed by Spotify's ability as a business to be "willing to grow and expand outside itself," sealing the deal. Spotify is promoting its original podcasting credentials at Cannes Lions Festival, with exclusive talks for advertising execs featuring Noah and other creators. While at The Daily Show, Noah fronted "Between the Scenes," a short-form Emmy award-winning series that showed him interacting with the audience when the show cut to commercial. When he first met McNamara, she said he expressed a desire to spend more time with his audience and have deeper conversations, at length. "He's in a new act of his own life that's a fascinating journey. So this just felt like a perfect fit," she added. The move speaks to Spotify's ambitions in the space. It now distributes almost 5 million podcasts and says it wants to reach 50 million creators, after reseting its strategy following layoffs in the division at the beginning of 2023. It also lands the streaming giant another big-name deal after its reported $20 million, multiyear plan to make podcasts with Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex came to an end after just 12 episodes. The platform has been going big on promoting its original podcasting credentials at Cannes Lions Festival, with exclusive talks for advertising execs featuring creators including Noah himself and Call Her Daddy's Alex Cooper. The future of late-night Since his departure, The Daily Show has been fronted by a string of guest hosts. Despite his experience, Noah said he hasn't given them parting wisdom: "No one needed it," he laughed. "I still talk to my friends on the show. I said goodbye, it was hugs and kisses and I've taken a moment, started doing my stand-up around the world and been thinking about what the next chapter of my journey would be." How Pfizer Aims to Build Its Brand Post Pandemic Noah's exit, and the recent departure of James Corden as host of CBS's The Late Late Show, along with the cancellation of Samantha Bee's Full Frontal, has left many pondering the future of late-night TV. For Noah, it's not just about late-night: The entire media landscape is changing. "People see late-night as changing because it's a very apparent one," he said, elaborating: "If you take a wider look, you realize all media is changing. Gone are the days when one show gets everyone around the water cooler at the same time ... the world is becoming a lot more niche." "Media used to be dictated to people, and now they are able to pick what entertainment is à la carte," he added, which gives audiences a lot of "power." Noah is unequivocally ready to listen to his own audience and take them on this new journey with him. He's very much ready for his next act.

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