Brow Beat

Jessica Williams Is Leaving The Daily Show

Jessica Williams.

Gavin Bond/Comedy Central

More than four years into her tenure as the youngest correspondent in The Daily Show’s history, Jessica Williams has announced in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that Thursday, June 30, will mark her last episode on the news satire program. Williams, who is set to begin developing a scripted project of her own for Comedy Central, is the first correspondent to leave The Daily Show since Trevor Noah took over for Jon Stewart last fall.

Williams quickly established herself as a distinct voice on the topics of race and gender, with memorable contributions including “Frisky Business”—her proposal to relocate stop-and-frisk policies to Wall Street—and coverage of the Supreme Court’s 2014 ruling on Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, during which she provided her own biting definition of a “closely held corporation.”

“I feel so many emotions,” Williams told Entertainment Weekly about her decision to leave. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself on the show. I’m 26 now. I’ve learned so much, I always kind of feel like it’s grad school—a sort of continuation of my education.” For his part, Noah expressed mixed feelings, adding, “The sadness I have for Jessica leaving is only eclipsed by the joy I have for her starting her new show.”

News broke of Williams’ Comedy Central project back in March, when she signed a development deal with the network. According to the official description, the potential half-hour series (co-produced by Broad City writer Naomi Ekperigin) will focus on “a politically-minded young woman who may be ‘woke’ but doesn’t know what she’s doing.”