( CNN ) As a person-of-color , African-American , veteran minority journalist and longtime enthusiast of all things `` Daily Show , '' I am of course as happy , proud and thrilled as the wife of a successful Apollo astronaut over the impending ascension of Trevor Noah , the biracial comedian from South Africa , to Jon Stewart 's anchor chair on what 's believed by many to be the most trusted half-hour of news and information in America . As a person who believes in fair play and equal opportunity for all , I am also moved to wonder when a woman will get the chance to preside over a talk show after sunset ? Look . I do n't mean to sound ungrateful . After generations of near-to-total invisibility on mass media airwaves , it 's bracing to find a whole one-hour block of high-profile cable television infotainment anchored by men who look like me . Indeed , in pushing forth both Noah and Larry Wilmore , the writer , comic and erstwhile National Black Correspondent for `` The Daily Show , '' to preside over both halves of Comedy Central 's much-coveted 11 p.m.-to-midnight bloc , Stewart is acknowledging what the mainstream of the country truly is : i.e . not as pale-faced as it once thought it was . And so far , Wilmore 's `` The Nightly Show , '' which premiered earlier this year as a replacement for the very different `` Daily Show '' companion once hosted by Stephen Colbert , is gradually establishing its own identity as an equally cheeky hybrid of sketch satire and celebrity forum with its own multicultural flavor . Still , one does wonder what happened to the groundswell of support building among `` Daily Show '' constituents for Jessica Williams , a three-year veteran of the show and an early favorite for Stewart 's spot after he announced last month he was leaving . Williams , who is black , tweeted back to her supporters her grateful opinion that she was `` extremely under-qualified for the job . '' Maybe , but what about Samantha Bee ? She 's the `` most senior correspondent '' for `` The Daily Show '' and is taking her penchant for performance artistry and provocation to TBS , where she 'll create her own satiric news franchise . Her track record bodes well for her prospects there . But it 's difficult to find any evidence that she was considered a Stewart successor -- though her announcement that she was leaving the show came a month after Stewart 's . Besides Bee ? No one , least of all those affiliated with Comedy Central , have disclosed any candidates besides Noah . There was even less buzz about the Stewart opening than Colbert 's a year ago , during which time there were many willing to say that now was the time to finally give a woman a shot at late-night TV for the first time since the late Joan Rivers ' Fox Network effort , `` The Late Show '' came in 1987 -- and went in 1988 . And yes , we are n't neglecting Chelsea Handler , whose `` Chelsea Lately '' was for seven seasons on the E ! Network a bawdier late-night alternative to whatever Letterman , Stewart and others were putting down beyond prime-time . She 's supposed to start streaming a new show through Netflix sometime next year . So one supposes she 's pretty busy . It will happen , perhaps sooner than one now expects . Look how long it took before Diane Sawyer and Katie Couric were given their shots to anchor evening news broadcasts on ABC and CBS respectively . Hmmm ... wonder what they 're doing after 11 p.m. these days .
As a black man , Gene Seymour thrilled Trevor Noah tapped for `` Daily Show . '' But in service of fair play he asks : Why not a woman for the job ? Jessica Williams , Samantha Bee would have been good candidates . When will women finally get their shot at late night ?