Your next batch of Daily Show guest hosts has been chosen. Vanity Fair can exclusively announce that Hasan Minhaj, Al Franken, Marlon Wayans, Kal Penn, and John Leguizamo will all take turns behind the Daily Show desk for weeklong stints beginning on February 27, with the show continuing to search for a permanent host.
The five funnymen will follow the series’ first quintet of guest hosts, who have taken turns at the reins of the show since Trevor Noah made his grand exit in 2022. Noah spent seven years hosting Comedy Central’s flagship series. SNL alum Leslie Jones kicked off the new era with a bang, hosting with a healthy dose of brass and chaos. She was followed by Wanda Sykes, who brought energy but didn’t seem interested in taking over the gig full-time. D.L. Hughley served as the only male guest host in the first batch; his laid-back vibe translated better in interviews than behind the desk. Chelsea Handler has made clear that she is interested in taking over as the permanent host, and has made a solid case for why she might be a good fit for the job. Sarah Silverman will get a chance to make her own case when her guest-hosting gig begins on February 13.
Hasan Minhaj, who kicks off the new crop of hosts on February 27, is perhaps best known for his Netflix talk show, Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj, which aired from 2018 to 2020 and took home a Peabody Award. Before that, Minhaj served as the last correspondent hired by former Daily Show host Jon Stewart in 2014, making his stint something of a homecoming. Minhaj spent four years as a correspondent on The Daily Show, displaying his knack for topical comedy in segments about Donald Trump’s executive order banning travel from several Muslim-majority countries and former congressman Aaron Schock’s questionable use of taxpayer dollars. “I’m so excited to be back at The Daily Show,” Minhaj told VF. “This feels like a homecoming. Hopefully Ronny Chieng hasn’t vandalized my office.”
Al Franken, whose guest-hosting gig begins on March 20, is also no stranger to The Daily Show’s specific mix of politics and comedy. Franken was one of the original writers on Saturday Night Live in 1975; he wrote and performed on the NBC sketch show for nearly two decades, leaving in 1995 after the late Norm Macdonald booked the Weekend Update anchor chair. Franken followed his Saturday Night Live stint by pivoting into politics, getting heavily involved with the Democratic Party and ultimately serving as a US senator for Minnesota from 2009 until 2018, when he resigned from the post after a string of sexual-misconduct allegations. (Franken apologized in a public statement. “I respect women. I don’t respect men who don’t,” read the statement. “And the fact that my own actions have given people a good reason to doubt that makes me feel ashamed.”) Since then, he’s hosted The Al Franken Podcast and toured the country performing stand-up comedy. Franken told VF he’s “looking forward to working daily on the show.”
Like Franken, Harold & Kumar star Kal Penn ventured into politics after a career in comedy, serving as principal associate editor in the White House Office of Public Engagement during Barack Obama’s presidency. “I’m looking forward to combining my background in comedy with my experience as a White House aide to guest-host an incredible week with the legendary Daily Show team,” said Penn, whose hosting stint begins on March 13. “I’m also looking forward to dispelling the unfounded claims that we in the media are in any way biased. It is truly an honor to accept this job, which is just one of the millions created during President Biden’s historic first term.”
A member of the Wayans family comedy dynasty, Marlon Wayans begins his Daily Show guest-hosting stint on March 6. Wayans starred in the Scary Movie franchise, White Chicks, and the television series The Wayans Bros., alongside his brother Shawn Wayans, in the late ’90s and early aughts. More recently, Wayans has released stand up specials on HBO Max and Netflix and starred in Respect opposite Jennifer Hudson, and On the Rocks opposite Bill Murray and Rashida Jones. “I’m excited to be one of the many great guest hosts of the classic Daily Show,” said Wayans. “It’s such a well-oiled machine with so many great minds contributing…I’m looking forward to having some fun.”
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