Comedian Trevor Noah Named New The Daily Show Host

After three appearances on The Daily Show as a "correspondent," Trevor Noah has seemingly hit the jackpot.

The New York Times reports that Noah, a 31-year-old, biracial South African-born comedian who is relatively unknown to most American audiences will take over for 52-year-old Jon Stewart when he departs the highly successful Comedy Central franchise later this summer. Stewart told the Times that he may return occassionally as a "correspondent" as well -- "just to be a part of it!!!"

"You don't believe it for the first few hours," Noah told the New York Times, speaking from Dubai about receiving the news. "You need a stiff drink, and then unfortunately you're in a place where you can't really get alcohol."

People may not recall that Stewart, when he joined The Daily Show in 1998, replacing host Craig Kilborn, was a struggling comedian who had several failed TV hosting gigs and people predicted that he couldn't replace popular Kilborn. Stewart went on to transform the "fake news" program, making it a must-watch and the second-longest running program on Comedy Central (after South Park) and responsible for the careers of many other comedic actors. The fact they are putting a young, nonwhite performer such as Noah at the helm of the influential comedy series certainly makes quite a statement.

Noah said he knows he'll face lots of criticism. "We live in a world where some people still say Beyonce can't sing," he said. "Clearly I'm not immune to that."

His Showtime special African American is available and check out a clip below: