It’s been a rough week for “The Daily Show.” After receiving backlash for an offensive tweet about the U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion ruling in Texas (why, guys?), it was revealed that Jessica Williams is leaving the show to film a pilot for Comedy Central.
Williams joined “The Daily Show” in 2012 as its youngest correspondent ever at just 22. She instantly infused the show with sharp commentary on race and gender, memorably in segments on street harassment, sexual assault on campuses, cultural appropriation and police brutality.
Her last segment airs tonight, June 30, and according to an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she’ll be interviewing a panel of Bernie Sanders supporters who have decided to turn toward Donald Trump. Sounds like a good note to go out on.
But as Williams’ final segment ends, “The Daily Show” will be losing its last bit of edge. Since Trevor Noah took over for Jon Stewart last September, many have remarked about the show’s decline in quality. The 2016 presidential race has been a circus fueled by blatant racism and xenophobia, mass shootings, attacks on women’s rights and countless other harsh realities of America in 2016. “The Daily Show” is meant to be a comedic look at the news, but Stewart elevated it to cutting and sometimes angry commentary about the status quo. Noah, for all his charm, seems incapable of mustering the kind of rage that made “The Daily Show” can’t-miss TV.
With Stewart gone, Samantha Bee and John Oliver have taken up the mantle of late-night incredulity with “Full Frontal” and “Last Week Tonight,” respectively, and both shows are doing remarkable things. Back at “The Daily Show,” the last vestige of “Holy shit, is this really happening?” has existed in Williams, who still fills her pieces with personal feelings that suggest she’s actually living in this messed up situation instead of merely laughing down at it.
It’s kind of perfect that her new pilot will reportedly center on a politically minded 20-something “who may be ‘woke’ but doesn’t know what she’s doing.” In that sense, we won’t be saying goodbye to what Williams brought to TV, but “The Daily Show” definitely is. Considering the 2016 campaign fireworks are just getting started, they better find a new source of that awareness soon.
@lchval | laurenchval@redeyechicago.com
