Trevor Noah to pay Daily Show crew out of own pocket

Popular TV show host Trevor Noah is paying members of the Daily Show crew out of his pocket, according to a report by Variety.

Studio production of the talk show has been halted due to the global pandemic, which has spawned a social-distancing version of the production, with the host shooting his bits from the comfort of his own home.

The change in productions style has resulted in 25 crew members being granted leave.

Trevor Noah forks out Daily Show crew salaries

An unnamed sourced quoted by the publication says the South African comedian has informed the affected staff members that he will continue to pay their salaries until studio production returns.

“These are the people who have been on the show with Trevor from day one and help him put on the show,” the source close to the production told Variety. “Trevor is personally covering their salaries until the production business opens again. He respects his crew tremendously and feels it’s only right that they get thru this together.”

Variety

Talk show finds success amid social distancing 

The new version of the Daily Show – temporarily titled The Daily Social Distancing Show with Trevor Noah – has been airing on Comedy Central for six weeks, with Noah and other production staff contributing remotely.

The show has been dubbed a success, prompting the channel to extend the length of the episodes from 30 to 45 minutes.

“The news of supersized Daily Show episodes comes at a moment in time when viewers are heading to host Trevor Noah, not just for satire and escapism, but also for an honest point of view and as a source of trustworthy information,” Comedy Central said in a statement earlier in the week. “Continuing to build on its prior momentum, Comedy Central and The Daily Show have seen significant linear ratings success, digital gains and highly sought-after bookings as audiences find comfort in comedy programming.”

Comedy Central

Despite the challenging production atmosphere, the Daily Show has continued to host high-profile guests, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and well-known immunologist, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“Together, the interviews have garnered more than 43M views across channels,” the statement continued.

Comedy Central

Noah first appeared on the Daily Show – then hosted by Jon Stewart –  as a recurring contributor in December 2014.

Just three months after his first appearance on the show, he was announced as the new host, and officially took over in September 2015.