With the departure of Trevor Noah from The Daily Show late last year, Comedy Central is keeping things fresh with a batch of new hosts every month. According to Deadline, Noah’s full-time replacement is expected to take the anchor’s seat sometime this fall.
During the week of March 27, 2023, John Leguizamo (The Menu) will get his shot at hosting the comedy news series for a week. Besides Leguizamo, other celebrities who will get a shot at hosting duties include Sarah Silverman (currently hosting), Hasan Minhaj, Marlon Wayans, Kal Penn, and Al Franken. Celebrities who have already taken their turn include Leslie Jones, Wanda Sykes, D.L. Hughley, and Chelsea Handler.
What’s missing from all these Daily Show guest hosts, you ask? Latina comedians, of course. Since it’s probable that Comedy Central will announce more guest hosts before this latest group wraps up, we’ll suggest these seven Latina comedians get an invitation to the news desk ASAP. Maybe one of them can even book the job permanently.
1
Cristela Alonzo
Cristela Alonzo isn’t shy about letting the world know what she wants. Last year, she was vocal about taking over as the host of The Late Late Show after James Corden said he was ending his run this spring. Now that it’s been reported that the show won’t be returning either, Alonzo can focus on landing a guest spot (or permanent spot) on The Daily Show. She’s hosted podcasts and game shows already, so it’s time for her to put her brand of comedy back into the brightest spotlight.
2
Danielle Perez
Danielle Perez, who went viral for winning a treadmill on The Price is Right while being in a wheelchair and having no feet, can turn even the most awkward situation into a hilarious moment. This comedian, actor, and writer has made appearances on Comedy Central, Hulu’s Mom & Pop, and even The Jimmy Kimmel Show. And she has used her ability to make people laugh to bring diverse talents that she was interested in seeing for showcases via Thigh Gap Comedy while also appearing in a CBS Showcase of her own.
3
Anjelah Johnson-Reyes
Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, a former NFL cheerleader-turned-comic, had a great year in 2022. She finished a comedy tour and started another and was a guest on a few talk shows and a contestant on the reality series The Real Dirty Dancing. She also published her first memoir, filmed a pair of comedy specials, and found out she is pregnant and will give birth to her first child this summer. If Rhianna can perform during the Super Bowl with a baby bump, Johnson-Reyes can do the same as a host on The Daily Show.
4
Gina Brillon
Bronx-born comedian Gina Brillon has been featured on TV series like Kevin Can Wait and The Connors and has a pair of one-hour comedy specials, including 2014’s Pacifically Speaking, which was produced by Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, and 2021’s The Floor is Lava where she talks about everything from writing her own wedding vows to playing “broke people games” as a kid.
5
Aida Rodriguez
Aida Rodriguez’s rise from a contestant on the eighth season of Last Comic Standing to making her way through the stand-up comedy circuit has been fun to watch over the last nine years. In her 2021 HBO Max comedy special Fighting Words, Rodriguez uses tough love to explain that although words might hurt, uppercuts do, too. We’d love to hear how she’d handle a Ted Cruz or George Santos spectacle.
6
Eliza Jiménez Cossio
Eliza Jiménez Cossio already has a history with The Daily Show. After college, she interned for the show during its Jon Stewart days and climbed the ladder to become a digital writer and the on-air Senior Latina Correspondent. Cossio is currently a writer for HBO Max’s Our Flag Means Death and Hulu’s This Fool. She also wrote a handful of episodes for One Day at a Time.
7
Melissa Villaseñor
After six seasons on Saturday Night Live, Melissa Villaseñor decided not to return for a seventh, so now she needs a full-time gig. The self-described “introverted wandering free spirit goof” might be known for her spot-on impressions of celebrities like Owen Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but we also think she can command a camera if given the opportunity. We already know how talented she is in front of a live audience and on a stand-up stage, so let’s make this happen.