Despite only appearing on The Daily Show three times, correspondent and comedian Trevor Noah was named the next host of the late night fake news program on Monday.

Noah will replace Jon Stewart, who announced his retirement from the program on February 10. Stewart’s date of departure and Noah’s premiere date have not been announced.

“I’m thrilled for the show and for Trevor,” Stewart said in a statement.

”He’s a tremendous comic and talent that we’ve loved working with.”

Global comic perspective

Though his appearances on the program a few, Noah is already accomplished comedian with a global fan base, which, for some, will answer the question, “Why Trevor Noah?”

Noah is a 31-year-old comedian South African comedian who derives much of his comedy from this heritage, as well as his life in South Africa and race and ethnicity relations.

Amazingly, his parents’ marriage was considered illegal by the South African government when he was born. His mother, Patricia Noah, a black South African, married Robert Noah, a white South African. Patricia was jailed and fined for the marriage.

Michele Ganeless, Comedy Central president, said, in an interview with The New York Times, that the network chose Noah because of his unique worldview and deep understanding of human nature.

“He’s truly a student of the world,” she said.

The ‘next Jon Stewart’ doesn’t exist

Many fans hoped Comedy Central would choose a female host to succeed Stewart, with long-time correspondent Samantha Bee a favorite.

In the same interview, Ganeless said the network talked to both women and men before selecting Noah.

“We found in Trevor the best person for the job,” she said.

She added the network didn’t want to find the next Jon Stewart because there is no “next Jon Stewart.” Instead Comedy Central searched for an exciting new voice to bring to late night.

Social media says …

Fans on Twitter were talking about Noah’s appointment once it was announced. For the most part, Twitter users were focused solely on figuring out who Noah was. Some called him an intriguing choice. Others were thrilled at the decision. One tweet even promised to share with readers Noah’s relationship status.

A few perspectives from Twitter:

• “Turns out Trevor Noah is actually funny. Really funny,” tweeted @chrisbaskind.
• “I like Trevor Noah but man, I don't know,” tweeted @chelseaccm.
• “Trevor Noah, I hope, will challenge Americans see the world in ways others view it. I even look forward to laughing at myself. Every night,” tweeted @Russian_Starr.
• “Wow so that's now a South African and 2 Brits doing American late night shows. Congrats to Trevor Noah,” tweeted @PDSturman.