Trevor Noah Leaving ‘The Daily Show’ After Seven Years

For just the third time in its 26 year history, The Daily Show is looking for a new host.

That’s because its host for the last seven years, Trevor Noah, announced last night that he is leaving the series. Noah actually announced the news on The Daily Show on Thursday, which also happened to be his seventh anniversary episode. Noah replaced Jon Stewart on the Comedy Central series in 2015. He did not give a precise date when he would tape his final episode.

During the show, Noah said “I realized after the seven years, my time is up, but in the most beautiful way … I’ve loved hosting this show. It’s been one of my greatest challenges. It’s been one of my greatest joys. I’ve loved trying to figure out how to make people laugh even when the stories are particularly s—y on the worst days.”

Here was his announcement speech, as posted by The Daily Show on Twitter:

The Daily Show debuted on July 22, 1996, when it was hosted by Craig Kilborn, then a popular ESPN SportsCenter anchor moving into the world of talk shows. Kilborn left The Daily Show just two years later to become the host of The Late Late Show on CBS. He was succeeded by Jon Stewart who turned The Daily Show into appointment television, particularly during election cycles and amidst political scandals. Stewart remained at the show for over 15 years, until the South African comedian took over.

While ratings for the series declined with Noah as the host, The Daily Show remains one of Comedy Central’s key franchises. It’s launched multiple spinoffs, including The Colbert Report and numerous books. The network has yet to announce its plans for the show after Noah’s departure.