SA’s Trevor Noah wins Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series
After receiving 17 nominations over the past five years, SA comedian Trevor Noah won an Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series with The Daily Show with Trevor Noah at Monday night’s 75th Annual Emmy Awards ceremony at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
He made history as the first African and black TV host to win in the category.
The comedian previously won an Emmy in 2017 in the category Outstanding Short Form Variety Series for his work on the programme.
The ceremony had been postponed since September 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, and nominees were considered based on their show’s release date of between June 1 2022 and May 31 last year.
Noah beat late-night heavyweights Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart in his category to win the coveted Primetime Emmy award.
Standing on stage with his team from The Daily Show, the Johannesburg-born host gave a heartfelt acceptance speech.
“This story has been so long, has been so crazy, it’s been so wonderful,” Noah said.
“I start by thanking the crazy Africans who followed me to this country, David Kibuuka, Joseph Opio — thank you so much [director] David [Paul] Meyer, my partner in crime.
“And then the writers on the team, Roy Wood Jr, from the very beginning. Jordan Klepper’s flight got cancelled.
“Showrunner Jen Flanz — this woman rode with me through the trenches.”
The 39-year-old paused to say a special thank you to Jon Stewart, who had invited Noah to take over in 2015, after Stewart hosted on The Daily Show for 17 years.
“Honestly, the person I always thank, cause he’s just a crazy genius for thinking of it ... Hey Jon Stewart, wherever you are, my friend — thank you for calling me up.
“Thank you for asking me to come and join you on this crazy journey.”
Noah has had an excellent start to the Hollywood awards season. He was nominated in the recent Golden Globes for Best Stand-Up Comedian in Television; and he is nominated in the upcoming Grammys for Best Comedy Album, where he is also hosting for the fourth time in a row at the ceremony in Los Angeles on February 4.