Getting to sit behind the anchor’s desk at “The Daily Show” has been a dream come true for Desi Lydic. “Never did I think in a million years that I’d get the chance to sit at the desk but here we are and it’s really, really thrilling,” she tells Gold Derby during our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video interview above). She uses a somewhat chaotic analogy to convey how this has all felt since she started working in that role. “It’s kind of like being a passenger on a flight and being asked to jump into the cockpit and take the controls but you’re building the plane in the air as you’re flying. I think that’s how Boeing does it now.”
“The Daily Show” first premiered on Comedy Central in 1996 with Craig Kilborn as the host. Jon Stewart took over the show in 1999 and made the show a much more biting satire of news and American politics. Trevor Noah took the reins from Stewart in 2015 and led the show until 2022. Stewart has now returned to the show serving as host on Monday nights. The remaining three shows of each week are anchored by one of the current “correspondents,” who include Lydic, Jordan Klepper, Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta and Dulcé Sloan. The show has amassed 64 Emmy nominations over its 28-year-long run along with 24 victories including winning Best Variety Series 10 years in a row from 2003 until 2012.
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Since making her debut on the show in September of 2015, Lydic has covered many things that defy any sort of logic but the most surreal for her was election night in 2016, which nearly had her going to Hillary Clinton’s election night gathering. “We were waiting in the wings and I was about to go shoot a quick turnaround for that night at the Javits Center to be there as the balloons fell and the champagne was going to be popped for Hillary.” Michelle Wolf was prepared to go on if it was too early to call the election and when Lydic saw Wolf in the makeup chair, she knew that things were not going to go her way that evening. “They canceled our shoot to go to the Javits Center and that was truly the most surreal night that changed everything.”
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