Special Moments with Trevor Noah features the eponymous funnyman sitting at his new desk and addressing some pressing FAQs about the new regime: “Are we still covering the election? Yes. Still keeping all our amazing correspondents? Of course. Still selling our Special Moments jewelry collection? Only three left. Call now.”
The other two spots are mostly about the correspondents sucking up to the head man in a variety of absurd/hilarious ways.
In Some Say Zebra, Some Say Zebra, Jessica Williams, Hasan Minhaj, and Jordan Klepper try to get on the host’s good side by wielding a cricket mallet, tossing around a rugby ball, and blaring on a vuvuzela (those annoying noisemakers from the 2010 World Cup). These are all, of course, nods to Noah’s South African heritage, but the host encourages them to be themselves and act natural … unless they happen to be saying Zebra (/ˈziː.brə/). Noah is quick to remind Williams that it’s Zebra (/ˈzeb.rə/).
In Vying for Trevor Noah’s Attention, the brown-nosing reaches a fever pitch, as Jessica Williams gifts the host with a cuddly puppy, and Jon Hodgman one-ups her by ripping his mustache from his face and offering it up as a gesture of goodwill.
Taken together, the spots play out like parents consoling their son or daughter before their first day at a new school: “It’ll be just like your old school, you’ll see.”
Obviously, the powers that be want us to know that we can expect more of what made The Daily Show so great for so long, but the “nothing’s changing” motif has one, big, glaring problem: The man in the chair is changing. That being said, Comedy Central is sticking to the formula, hoping a new host doesn’t disturb the magic that spawned an entire genre of TV news.
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah debuts on Sept. 28, 2015.
