By Jen SifferlenCOLUMNIST

On Monday, Comedy Central announced that Trevor Noah, South African comedian and recent addition to the Daily Show, will be taking over Jon Stewart’s very prestigious and highly speculated seat behind the anchor’s desk at Comedy Central’s World News Headquarters.

The internet, meanwhile, has absolutely no idea who he is.

After the announcement, tweets poured in asking the obvious question: Who on earth is Trevor Noah?

Now a popular South African comedian, Noah was born and raised in Soweto, South Africa during the height of apartheid. He has been a correspondent on the Daily Show for only three months and change, appearing in three segments on the show since December of last year.

His brief and limited exposure on the Daily Show thus far has left a minimal impression on American viewers, but those who are unfamiliar, fear not. Trevor Noah is exactly who the Daily Show needs to fill Stewart’s soon to be vacant seat at the desk.

First and foremost, Noah is funny enough to take over. He is famous all over Africa for his comedy, and has has performed in front of sold out crowds at the Hammersmith Apollo in London and the Sydney Opera House in Australia throughout career, according to his website.

In 2011, he was the subject of a feature-length documentary called “You Laugh But It’s True,” chronicling the comedy scene in South Africa and his experiences growing up multi-racial during apartheid.

More than just comedy chops, Noah brings a sense of diversity to the show. Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and John Oliver are the faces of political satire. Each are brilliant and deserve their recognition, but that leaves the field of comedy news heavily skewed towards white men.

This year, Comedy Central has taken steps towards greater diversity in these host positions. The Nightly Show premiered with Larry Wilmore in January, and soon, Noah, a part-black, part-European, part-Jewish man from South Africa will take Stewart’s place at the helm of the wildly successful satire show.

The Daily Show, the Colbert Report and, more recently, Last Week Tonight and the Nightly Show have been criticized as being poor sources of information, but the social commentary these shows provide is critical to our democratic process.

Not only do they poke fun at the sometimes absurd figures and irrational policy, but they serve as a watchdog for media across the country. They are not afraid to call out their peers when they don’t do the news well.

No one can replace Jon Stewart, but someone has to take his seat at the desk. Trevor Noah is a name you’ll be hearing from now on, time and time again.

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