2016: The Year in Trevor Noah


Trevor Noah had his ups and downs in 2016, but he was always on people’s minds whether they liked him or not. Let’s take a look back at the Daily Show host’s big year.

Ratings

Trevor Noah started 2016 off with dismal ratings [Image by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images]

The only big news regarding Trevor Noah at the beginning of the year was the fact that his ratings were dismal. He tried going after Ben Carson, who was then a presidential candidate, but that didn’t seem to help. He regularly attracted less than 700,000 viewers a night. At times, it looked like his hosting duties would be canceled.

However, after Donald Trump’s election, Noah’s ratings started to increase. As the Inquisitr reported last month, Trevor started averaging 845,000 viewers per night. With Donald Trump’s inauguration, one can expect Noah’s ratings to increase even more.

Criticism

Trevor Noah became a magnet for criticism, but not just from the alt right. Many in the left just couldn’t deal with the fact that Noah was completely different than Jon Stewart. Salon wrote an article that claimed Samantha Bee should be the one to host The Daily Show.

“I couldn’t help imagining that somewhere high up in Comedy Central headquarters there’s an executive sobbing with the same intensity as old Poppy Bush. Because over the past month it’s become painfully obvious that ‘The Daily Show’ squandered its shot at a political comedy dynasty by betting on the wrong host,” said columnist Steve Almond.

The New York Daily News certainly didn’t help things by writing an article titled “Daily Show host Trevor Noah is a flop.”

“If Millennials are truly eating up Trevor Noah, then an entire generation is suffering from comedy malnutrition,” wrote columnist Gersh Kuntzman before noting that Comedy Central said it was happy with Noah’s ratings when it comes to young folks.

“That’s because all he has in his comic quiver is jokes. And pretty simple jokes, too. Noah needs to do better. I happily gave him eight months to get comfortable, but he isn’t impressing many of us,” Kuntzman continued.

Variety also wrote a very negative article claiming that the show lost its teeth under Noah’s guidance. However, by the end of the year, some critics were singing Noah’s praises. The Boston Globe, in particular, said that Trevor Noah is “coming into his own.”

“While some complained that Noah gave a fringe player a mainstream platform, his interview was revealing for its candid attempt to engage opposing viewpoints in a civil discourse about serious matters. He was polite and occasionally exasperated, but never flinched in challenging Lahren,” said critic Renee Graham, complimenting how Noah has changed his approach for the better.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump has given Trevor Noah a lot of ammunition. [Image by Al Bello/Getty Images]

Trevor’s biggest target this year has been Donald Trump. In May, he called Donald Trump a huge media manipulator. As the Inquisitr reported in July, Noah called Donald Trump an “Oompa Loompa.” However, Donald Trump’s election in November brought Trevor Noah to the edge, as Noah said Trump is finally telling the truth about all his lies and ripped Trump for hanging out with Kanye West. After Trump won the election, Time reported that Noah felt is was like the “end of the world.” For the past month, Trevor Noah has been the go-to person for those dissatisfied with the election results.

2017

Some say 2017 is a make-it-or-break-it year for Trevor Noah and The Daily Show, but it looks like Noah has already made it. It will be interesting to see his take on Donald Trump as he takes office next month. What were your favorite memories of Trevor Noah in 2016? Let us know in the comments section.

[Featured Image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images]

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