Kal Penn, Charlamagne Tha God Return to ‘Daily Show’ Amid Search for New Host

Kal Penn and Charlamagne Tha God will each take another stab behind the desk of Comedy Central’s venerable “Daily Show” as the Paramount Global network keeps looking for a new permanent host.

Charlamagne Tha God will lead the show during the week of December 4 while Penn will orchestrate things during the week of December 11, Comedy Central said Tuesday.

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The network has been conducting a protracted search for new talent since earlier this year, in a bid to replace the previous master of ceremonies, Trevor Noah. Penn and Charlamagne join a crowd of second-time guest hosts that also include Leslie Jones and Sarah Silverman. Several members of the “Daily” correspondent team have also taken turns leading affairs, sometimes on their own or in groups, or in an assemblage that includes the guest host of the week.

Penn distinguished himself in his earlier March run by enlisting President Joe Biden to appear in a segment in which he discussed how young people’s advocacy can spur change on climate, drilling, and human rights. Biden also offered about his views on same-sex marriage and the treatment of transgender children, among other topics. Penn was an associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs during the Obama administration.

Charlamagne Tha God in November sat down with Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. He has enjoyed a relationship with Comedy Central in recent years, which backed a run at a weekly comedy-and-news program that served as a sort of younger-skewing counterpart to Bill Maher’s “Real Time” on HBO.

Executives at the Paramount Global network are said to be eager to study audience research and get another look at how various personalities handle the job.

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