海角大神

As American viewers weigh in on Trevor Noah鈥檚 debut as the new host of the 鈥淭he Daily Show,鈥� South Africans are already giving him a standing ovation 鈥� even though the show has yet to air here.

The debut episode will officially air tonight in the rainbow nation. Some 5 million South Africans 鈥� in a country of 53 million 鈥� have access to digital satellite television, but show clips are already being shared freely online and both Mr. Noah and 鈥淭he Daily Show鈥� are trending on South African social media.

"He鈥檚 played his cards exactly right," says John Vlismas, a fellow South African comedian. 鈥淭he fact that Trevor's a comedian on the American stage who isn鈥檛 American, that鈥檚 something to celebrate.鈥�

Noah鈥檚 starring role has stirred national pride in a country that's struggling with its own identity on the world stage since the death of Nelson Mandela almost two years ago. He was hand-picked by former host Jon Stewart to steer one of America鈥檚 most cherished satirical shows, giving South Africans a new figure to stand behind.

It was 聽a chance, as Mr. Vlismas puts it, to see "a South African on an international stage who is achieving, not holding a picture of [Mandela]."

But Noah鈥檚 foreignness was also a point of debate when his appointment was announced this past spring. For his overwhelmingly liberal audience, Mr. Stewart was a political moral compass and an American treasure, and many questioned whether Noah could replace him. After聽controversial tweets from his past were revealed,聽South Africans quickly jumped to his defense, accusing American critics of being overly sensitive and politically correct.

Still, South Africans worried that聽Noah would not be accepted by US viewers.聽

"It鈥檚 an intimate relationship that Jon Stewart built," Mr. Vlismas says.聽

Judging by initial reviews, Americans are 聽willing to give Noah a chance, mostly because he has not changed much of the old format. As The New York Times鈥� James Poniewozik put it, 鈥淸Noah] could run the software without crashing.鈥� The Hollywood Reporter agreed, saying 鈥淣o memories of Stewart and his storied reign have been usurped or replaced. Nor, however, have they been sullied.鈥�

Noah chose content that Stewart might have produced were he still in the anchor鈥檚 chair: the Pope's US visit, the discovery of water on Mars, and House Speaker John Boehner鈥檚 resignation. Yet one of Noah鈥檚 biggest selling points, according to Comedy Central executives, was his international perspective 鈥� a plus he could have easily exploited on the opening day of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.聽

At that meeting, just across town from Comedy Central's studios, the聽likes of Russia鈥檚 Vladmir Putin, China鈥檚 Xi Jinping,聽Iran鈥檚 Hassan Rouhani, and South Africa鈥檚 own Jacob Zuma took to the stage to espouse on international issues that are central to American interests.聽

Noah鈥檚 most global moment, instead, came up during his opening monologue, when he took a brief moment to reflect on his rise: "Growing up in the dusty streets of South Africa, I never dreamt about hosting this show."

And judging from the digital fistbumps among South Africans today, neither did they.