"The time is right," says Trevor Noah, the new host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show.
Speaking to Jerry Seinfeld in the latest episode of web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Noah opens up about stepping into Jon Stewart's shoes.
"Jon announcing he's leaving the show…throws everybody off, because Jon does what no one seems to do, and that's leave when the time is right," says Noah, who joined The Daily Show as a contributor in 2014.
Why would Stewart leave when he's heading into the "juiciest" time - heading into a hotly contested US presidential election? asks Seinfeld.
"He's got an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old. It's the juiciest time in their lives," Noah says.
At a time of heightened race relations in the United States, Noah uses the interview to explain his complicated background growing up coloured, to black and white parents in South Africa during Apartheid.
If we can't find reasons to laugh then we will only ever cry. Happy and sad are two sides of the same coin.— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah)
March 13, 2015
As Seinfeld and Noah drive the streets of New York in a white Ferrari, Noah recounts hearing about the job vacancy. "I was, like, 'Who's going to get the show?' It was crazy."
He got the call offering him the job while driving in Dubai - it was a struggle to find a celebratory drink in a city that is predominantly dry of alcohol. "'Let's find a drink in this Muslim Middle-Eastern country,'" he recalls thinking. "Even if we're getting arrested, this is worth it. Let's get that drink."
Past episodes of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee have featured big comedy names getting serious; in one previous episode, Seinfeld co-star Michael Richards, who played Kramer in the series, spoke about quitting stand-up after being filmed delivering a racist rant at a heckler in 2006.
Noah is due to start his tenure in the comedy central's flagship satirical news show in September 28.
