“The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” has hired Baratunde Thurston as Supervising producer overseeing the expansion of original digital content as part of a new social and multiplatform initiative, Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless announced on Thursday.
The writer and comedian will spearhead the creation and production of platform-specific programming while spreading “The Daily Show’s” digital presence to an audience that is increasingly consuming content on multiple devices.
“Baratunde brings a very unique set of skills to ‘The Daily Show.’ We’ve been admirers of his comedic work on all platforms for a long time,” said Ganeless. “We’re thrilled he is joining the team and can’t wait to see what he and the team create for the show under Trevor Noah.”
Thurston is the president and co-founder of Cultivated Wit, a company that aims to combine humor with technology to make complicated ideas more fun. He is also the co-host of the podcast “About Race,” and served as digital director for “The Onion” from 2007 until 2012. He has more than 10 years of experience in stand-up comedy.
“The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” will premiere Sept. 28 at 11 p.m. ET/PT. Currently, “The Daily Show” has 4 million Twitter followers, with Noah claiming 2.5 million followers. Noah took over for Jon Stewart, who filmed his final episode on Aug. 5, marking the end of his 16-year run as the show’s host.
The series has won 20 Emmys and has a total of 60 Primetime Emmy nominations. Noah, Steve Bodow, Jen Flanz, Tim Greenberg, Jill Katz and Adam Lowitt are executive producing the show, with Hillary Kun serving as co-executive producer. It is directed by Chuck O’Neil.