Trevor Noah selects SA-based comic, Loyiso Madinga, to helm ‘daily show’ segments for Africa

Viacom International Media Networks Africa on Thursday announced that Trevor Noah, executive producer, writer and host, has selected Loyiso Madinga to helm topical segments for the African broadcast of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

“As wild as Donald Trump is for America, many countries around the world have Trumps of their own and since ‘The Daily Show’ is in many countries, we thought ‘why not give each country a chance to show off their stable geniuses?” said Trevor Noah.

“I am really excited to create a voice for local satire. What is really great is this places an authentic spotlight on local comedy and presents a reality that combats the stereotypical perception of Africa. Being part of the Daily Show, I get to join the best conversation in the world,” said Loyiso Madinga.

Inserting local relevance to the global hit, the South African-based correspondent’s segments will air intermittently on Comedy Central across the continent with this regionally targeted report replacing some of the main edition’s original content. The first piece, a field report from the African National Congress Elective Conference, will debut in Africa on Comedy Central (DStv channel 122) on Thursday, 11 January 2018 at 21:30 CAT.

Commented Alex Okosi, Executive Vice President and Managing Director for Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN Africa): “One of our key objectives as Viacom International Media Networks Africa is to provide a platform via our brands for great African talent and content. We are excited that through this localized segment on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, Loyiso, has an opportunity to continue showcasing his great comedic talent to audiences across Africa and around the world.”

Loyiso (@loyisomadinga) is a stand-up comedian from South Africa who has quickly risen to being a celebrated international comic. Loyiso’s career has been on the fast track since his debut in 2012 at the Montecasino Teatro where he also shared the stage with international acts such as Tom Segura. Since then, he quickly became a regular local comedian act, sharing a stage with several comedians on David Kau’s “Blacks Only” line up.

He also travelled South Africa as part of Trevor Noah’s Nationwild tour and represented his home country at the Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland and Busan Comedy Festival in Korea. Loyiso has written and performed on the two-time Emmy finalist satire show, “Late Nite News” with South African, Loyiso Gola, and also written and performed on the hit local sketch show, “Bantu Hour.”

““Loyiso’s comic timing and fast thinking humour make him the ideal choice as a Daily Show correspondent. He is indicative of the diverse and deep pool of talent that shines on our continent and beyond its shores.” said Dillon Khan, Vice President for Comedy Central and Creative Services for VIMN Africa.

Internationally, ratings for “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” were up +35% YOY for all viewers across 10 measured markets* for calendar year 2017, driven by strong growth in the UK and South Africa. On the domestic front, viewership for “The Daily Show” was up +15% in 2017 and ratings among the key demo of adults 18-49 were up +9%. In the U.S., “The Daily Show” ranks as the top late-night talk show among millennial men (18-34) and is the #2 talk show with all millennials, behind only “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Comedy Central’s programming list helped it reach 372 million subscribers in 146 countries worldwide in fiscal 2017, compared with 285 million in fiscal 2016.

Trevor Noah, Steve Bodow, Jen Flanz and Jill Katz are the Executive Producers of “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” with Justin Melkmann as Co-Executive Producer. Max Browning, Eric Davies, Pam DePace, Ramin Hedayati and Elise Terrell are Supervising Producers. Zhubin Parang is the Head Writer with Daniel Radosh as Senior Writer. The series is directed by Paul Pennolino. Sarah Babineau is the Executive in Charge of Production for Comedy Central.

The locally produced Africa segment by Diprente, was directed by renowned comedian Kagiso Lediga, alongside Tamsin Andersson as the producer. The writers of the content are Kagiso Lediga, Karabo Lediga, Christopher Steenkamp, Muzi Dlamini, Mpheng Morobe, Camilo Saloojee, Lazola Gola, Simo Mngomeni. Additional production credits: DOP, Motheo Moeng; sound, Grant Baumann and Marc De Montbron is the editor.

Watch The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Tuesdays to Fridays on Comedy Central (DStv channel 122) at 21:30 CAT.