Trevor Noah reveals Jon Stewart's killer advice

BY DONNA FREYDKIN

His version of Comedy Central's The Daily Show premieres on Monday night, but you'd never know it from talking to Trevor Noah.

There's no sense of anxiety, no tang of fear. In fact, he doesn't even seem to resent the very thing most of his peers disdain: talking to the press to promote their projects.

"I don't think it's annoying at all. I appreciate the time taken out by any outlet. You can make the best show but if no one knows it's happening it's pointless," says Noah.

True, that. He takes over for Jon Stewart, one of the most revered, respected figures in pop culture, an actor and comedian who took a marginal late-night show and turned into mandatory viewing. He fought for 9/11 first responders' right, he lambasted Michael Vick for dog fighting, and he just won yet another Emmy. Noah's first guests are Kevin Hart and Chris Christie.

So did Stewart offer his successor any advice? "Jon just told me to make the best show I feel needs to be mad and to trust the discomfort," says Noah.

Now, it's crunch-time for the South African comedian.

"The show is a few days away from premiering. Other than that we have no control. That's all we can do right now. We're doing test shows. I don't think we'll ever truly believe we're ready. You're trying to get to the most perfect version of it -- Jon himself kept working on the show after many many years," says Noah.

His plan isn't to be overly snarky, or snide. "I don't take things too seriously. we're reacting to the news in an interesting and fun way. We want to surprise people. we have that element playing in our favor," he says.

Of course, Noah was inundated with tips for achieving greatness. "I'm eternally grateful, but some of it was more useful than other stuff. Some of it was really random. But, you never know when you'll need it," he says.

Viewers have no idea what to expect, except that fans of his standup know that Noah is scathingly funny on stage and takes on issues like race. So when they turn on his new show, "I want them to know the real trevor, if we spend time together on the show, we'll grow together. I want to create relationships with the viewers and explore the funny side of the news."

Speaking of: "There's so many things. everything from the Syrian refugee crisis to Donald Trump to the republican debates and Hillary's email scandal. All of that enthusiasm has to be tempered with the right timing."

See more photos of Noah and Stewart: