Roy Wood Jr. Talks About Getting His “Ducks In A Row” If He Doesn’t Land ‘The Daily Show’ Host Role

Peter White

16 October 2023 at 2:14 pm·3-min read

Roy Wood Jr. surprised everyone by revealing that he was leaving The Daily Show as a correspondent.

Pulling what could be described as a Trevor Noah-style exit, Wood Jr. revealed ten days ago that he would not return to the Comedy Central show, although he kept the door open in case he was named permanent host.

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He told Sherri Shepherd that he is now “making sure all my ducks are in a row” in case he doesn’t get it.

He admitted that he could get the job – the process is still ongoing and Wood Jr. has been in the mix at various points, including as part of a rotating cast of permanent hosts – but in the meantime he didn’t want to stay on the show.

“I was shocked at the decision myself because number one, we were in a strike. Who do you know come off strike and then quit the job?,” he said.

Wood Jr. added, “As you start looking at the lay of the land of late night and television as a whole, that’s going to be a long process figuring out who is going to be in that chair and I respect that process. But while you got your process, I need to have my process. So I’m going to be over here making sure all my ducks are in a row as well. In case that doesn’t end up the way that I hope.”

“The job of correspondent … It’s not easy.. It is not … and I’m not trying to … It’s not like hard labor but it is a mentally stressful job. So I want to make sure that I remove the stress from my space so I have space to figure out what’s next for myself in case I’m not in that chair come January. So I had to leave. I’m sorry … that’s just what it is and it’s nothing personal. This is the first job I ever quit where I got to clean out my office,” he added.

Wood Jr., who shares a manager with his old friend Noah, added, “I gotta give a shout out to the homey, Trevor Noah, for giving me the opportunity to be there eight years.”

The Daily Show returns tonight after five months off the air due to the writers strike. Correspondent Michael Kosta is first up in the guest chair, followed by Desus Nice, Charlamagne Tha God, repeat showings from Sarah Silverman and Leslie Jones, a news team takeover and Michelle Wolf.

Deadline understands that Wood Jr. is still one of the names being discussed, alongside other correspondents including Desi Lydic, while external candidates are thought to include Chelsea Handler and Leslie Jones. Hasan Minhaj was thought to be leading the charge, but that New Yorker article seems to have put paid to that.

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