According to Variety, Noah will depart after a final appearance on the program on December 8. The timeline gives Noah a chance to anchor the program as its cast makes its way to Atlanta for a midterm-election special, and to look back at his tenure on the series.

Comedy Central will place the show on hiatus after Noah’s farewell, and plans to bring it back on January 17 as part of what the network called a “reinvention.”

A successor for Noah has not been announced, but the network is believed to be considering some of the show’s correspondents as part of its deliberations, reported Variety.

Noah, who came out of near anonymity to take over the program from Jon Stewart in 2015, stunned Comedy Central and Paramount executives in late September when he announced that he would leave the show.

Sources say that staffers with the show and higher up at the conglomerate didn’t find this out until Noah’s announcement.

In June, Noah extended his option to remain at the centre of The Daily Show for another two years. As per The Hollywood Reporter, sources note he also had an option for another year that would have taken him through the 2024-25 season. That made Noah’s decision to leave an additional surprise for everyone at Paramount and with The Daily Show.