Trevor Noah is making power moves with media giants. The Comedy Central host and comedian has finalized an agreement with Viacom to launch an international distribution and production company called Day Zero Productions. The lengthy agreement will give Viacom first look opportunities to all of Noah’s future film and television endeavors. In exchange, Viacom will reportedly make an undisclosed investment into Noah’s newest endeavor.
It is being reported that the first project to be produced from this partnership is a film adaptation of Noah’s best selling book, Born A Crime. Lupita Nyong’o is set to play Noah’s mother, Queen Sugar‘s Liesl Tommy is set to direct and Paramount Players’ Brian Robbins is set to produce the film. There is currently no release date for the film.
The announcement of the deal comes shortly after The Daily Show lost two of its biggest stars, Hasan Minhaj and Michelle Wolf, to Netflix. In the past, The longtime Comedy Central show has lost Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee and Jessica Williams to other networks and online platforms. Hopefully, this new deal will encourage other emerging talents to stick around.
