After 15 years, it's hard to imagine "The Daily Show" without Jon Stewart. But as the host announced in his "Moment of Zen" on Tuesday, he's ready to pass the desk onto someone else.
Considering that there are zero women hosting late night shows and, even with the addition of Larry Wilmore's "The Nightly Show," the current landscape is predominantly white, male and straight, it would make sense to seek out a host much different than Stewart. There are also some exceedingly qualified replacements currently on the show's staff. But there aren't any rules that the next host has to have been a correspondent (that we know of).
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While it's difficult to imagine someone filling Stewart's shoes (after you rule out all the talented people whom he helped get shows of their own, *cough* John Oliver *cough*) here are 13 funny people who we think may be up to the challenge:
Sarah Silverman
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Politically intelligent, hilariously funny and a woman who can snag the coveted men 18-49 demographic, Silverman would make an excellent choice as host.
Jason Jones and Samantha Bee
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Not only are they two of the best correspondents on "The Daily Show," real-life married couple Jason Jones and Samantha Bee would make a great hosting team. It would be like having our very own Ron Burgundy and Veronica Corningstone from "Anchorman," just without all the teleprompter pranks (or, maybe not).
Aisha Tyler
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In addition to being one hilarious stand-up comic, the voice of Lana on "Archer" and a host on "The Talk" as well as "Whose Line Is It Anyway," Tyler's resume more than qualifies her to host a late night show. She was also a fan-favorite to replace Craig Ferguson on "The Late Late Show," but that spot went to James Cordon.
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Aasif Mandvi
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Mandvi's "Daily Show" segments about the Middle East and other parts of the world make him a great candidate for satirizing worldwide issues. After all, he has already been dubbed the "Senior Foreign-Looking Correspondent" once or twice.
Jessica Williams
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At just 25 years old, Williams has made her mark on "The Daily Show" for her excellent segments about catcalling, inter-political dating, and an unforgettable piece on the military's asinine hair regulations called "Operation Black Hair."
Brian Williams
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What better way to recover from making a mockery of the news than becoming a professional news mocker? Just kidding (sorta).
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Wanda Sykes
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Sykes is one of the greatest stand-up comics we have and would bring a completely different perspective to "The Daily Show." She couldn't have less in common with Jon Stewart, and after 15 years maybe that's a good thing?
Al Madrigal
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Also a stand-up comedian turned "Daily Show" correspondent, Madrigal's pieces on immigration are some of the show's best. He also recently made a special for Fusion about being half Latino in America that has a "Daily Show" vibe with its poignancy mixed with humor.
Cameron Esposito
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The only person who could beat Conan at having a signature hairstyle, Esposito is one of the funniest stand-up comics working today. Her fierce bits about gender (including the realest period joke of all time) and intelligent blogs would make her a prime candidate for news satire and a refreshing change for late night.
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John Hodgman
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If we're going to go the white guy route, Hodgman is not only a great "Daily Show" correspondent, but a dapper fellow who loves mocking rich people and politics. Hey, Patton Oswalt wouldn't be too bad either...
Colin Quinn
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There's also Quinn who, as a "Weekend Update" correspondent on "Saturday Night Live," proved that he can handle a desk job. He has the same ranting quality that people expect from Jon Stewart, isn't afraid to cross the line and would probably definitely RT every trolling comment thrown his way.
W. Kamau Bell
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As host of FX's "Totally Biased," Bell proved that late night TV can be a lot edgier than it currently is.
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Tina Fey and/or Amy Poehler
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Okay, this is obviously a long shot. But wouldn't that be amazing?
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