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As The Daily Show With Trevor Noah prepares to bring back live studio audiences, they’ll return to a very familiar space — their longtime studio home on 11th Avenue and W52nd Street. The Daily Show briefly relocated to 1515 Broadway in Times Square as Comedy Central’s Tha God’s Honest Truth filmed its first season in the space at the NEP Studio. The news of the move was reported first by Deadline.
Neighbors were thrilled to hear of the 26-year veteran news and comedy production’s triumphant return. “We are so excited to welcome Trevor &and company back to the block. We’ve had a bit of a makeover since he left so we’ll have to give him a proper homecoming!” said Aidan Connolly, Executive Director of the Irish Arts Center.
The Daily Show, which began in 1996 with host Craig Kilborn, moved to 11th Avenue (first W54th then W52nd) shortly into its run, spanning Jon Stewart’s entire hosting tenure and the first few seasons of current star Trevor Noah (a Hell’s Kitchen resident himself!).
When production shut down in 2020, Noah personally paid the salaries of his furloughed employees while broadcasting a socially-distanced show from his W50th Street penthouse. The team would eventually return to empty studio tapings at 1515 Broadway as they navigated the possibility of bringing back live crowds.
Said Noah of the experience in a guest appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, “I have to get used to people laughing again. There are parts of doing it with nobody there that has a smallness to it — we feel like a band of robbers in the Wild West. Imagine then if you now had guests in your house — when I have guests over, I have to think about, ‘how would I like this experience to go for them, so that they want to stay’.”
Now, locals who greeted the full-building murals of Stewart and Noah can look forward once again to signs of the TDS crew in Hell’s Kitchen, where they’ve been spotted conducting “man-on-the street” interviews and hitting up Ardesia Wine Bar after a taping. Perhaps there will be an epic crossover episode between Noah’s team and Stewart’s new production, The Problem With Jon Stewart, currently filming a few blocks north at AMV Studios on W57th Street. Meanwhile, Tha God’s Honest Truth is confirmed for a second season, though a premiere date and filming location has yet to be announced.
Locals interested in checking out tapings of The Daily Show’s newest chapter can reserve free tickets now as the production gears up for its first show back at NEP on April 11. One particular local may be first in line — HKer Gail Ingram, who used to enjoy a daily view of Noah’s face on the banner outside her bedroom window, and was thrilled at the news of his return. “This is shocking news! I’m on an emotional rollercoaster over here on 11th Avenue. I only made it to step 4 in the 7 stages of loss. Mom always said, ‘If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it was meant to be,’” said Ingram. She added: “The charm of 11th Avenue can’t be denied. Times Square has nothing on Hell’s Kitchen!”