Stephen Colbert hasn’t turned his back on Comedy Central entirely since moving to CBS, which he proved on Thursday by inviting incoming “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah onto his new late-night gig.
Noah, who is taking over the reins from 16-year veteran Jon Stewart on Sept. 28, got to stretch his legs on the “Late Show” by talking pre-game nerves and politics.
Colbert asked him how he was feeling after “stepping into the seat of a legend of talk shows, that is crazy. Who on earth would ever want to do that,” he said, ironically also referring to himself taking over from David Letterman.
“Every day I think ‘what have I done?’” Noah replied. “You can’t live up to Jon Stewart, it’s insane.”
Noah went on to describe his predecessor as a “Jewish Yoda,” saying he gave him cryptic advice such as: “‘The Daily Show’ is what ‘The Daily Show’ should be for you to be the best show you can make.’
“I walked away not knowing what that meant,” the South African comedian admitted.
Another tip was more useful at least, with Stewart telling him to “trust his discomforts. If you’re feeling uncomfortable then that’s the way you should be going.”
As for Wednesday’s GOP debate featuring Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, Jeb Bush and pals, Noah complained that it was “three hours and 10 minutes, and no one said anything.”
Noah began appearing as a recurring contributor on “The Daily Show” in December 2014 and it was announced in March that he would be taking over from Stewart upon his retirement.
Meanwhile, Colbert was one of the earliest “Daily Show” correspondents after it launched in 1999, but left in 2005 to launch “The Colbert Report,” also on Comedy Central.
“The Late Show” airs at 11:35 p.m. on CBS.