Trevor Noah Confirms Date of His Final Day on ''The Daily Show' ': 'Excited to See What the Future Holds'

Trevor Noah's tenure as host of The Daily Show has an official end date.

The late-night host, 38, is signing off for good on December 8, the network announced Wednesday.

Noah has been the Comedy Central show's host for the past seven years, since taking the reins from Jon Stewart in 2015.

Paramount Media Networks and MTV Entertainment Studios president and CEO Chris McCarthy praised Noah in the announcement saying he "is an incredible talent who has left an indelible mark on The Daily Show."

Noah returned the sentiment: "Chris has been an amazing leader and partner who has helped me realize my dream of working not just in front of the camera, but also behind the scenes..."

"I'm truly excited to see what the future holds," Noah concluded.

The show will return Jan. 17, after a holiday season hiatus, but a replacement for Noah has not been confirmed.

The longtime host announced at the end of September in a clip shared on Twitter that he was leaving the late-night talk show after seven years.

"One of the overriding feelings I found myself experiencing … was a feeling of gratitude," he began, reflecting on his time on The Daily Show.

"There are so many people who make this thing come together, and I want to say thank you to the audience for an amazing seven years," he continued.

"It's been wild. I remember when we first started, so many people didn't believe in us. It was a crazy bet to make. I still think it was a crazy choice… What a journey it's been."

The Daily Show premiered in 1996 with Craig Kilborn as host. Stewart took over from 1999 to 2015. In 2020, Stewart opened up about how The Daily Show had evolved since Noah stepped in as host.

"It's not meant as a denigration of me," said Stewart while on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show at the time. "The evolution of show was also about opening our eyes to some of the realities of business around us."

RELATED VIDEO Trevor Noah Exits 'The Daily Show' After 7 Years: 'My Time Is Up'

Stewart added that "it took 16 years to change it at a glacial pace."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"Because that kind of mindset, to me, because I didn't grow up in it ... it's not a part of me," he continued. "For Trevor, it's a part of him. It flows from him naturally. You don't do it because necessarily it's the right thing to do — it makes it better. The show is better."

Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs weeknights at 11 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.