At the end of the show and the middle of a bunch of jokes, Trevor Noah announced that he’s leaving The Daily Show after seven-years. The video is an example of bad news, although I’m surprised at how he delivered the message (and I missed it last month).

His decision seemed to surprise his boss, who had lunch with him the day before and thought he would stay for at least the 2023-24 season. Even more surprising is that people at the media company would admit this to The Hollywood Reporter, which quoted a “high-ranking insider” (debatable?) as saying, “We were completely shocked.”

Noah’s five-minute video started with his gratitude for the seven-year experience. About two minutes in, he said, “My time is up. Yeah, but in the most beautiful way, honestly.” Then he described what he enjoyed about the show and what he misses, including traveling. All of it sounded unscripted, which of course, is consistent with his style and sounded authentic.

His approach is understandable partly because he didn’t have a set departure date at the time. He joked, “I’m not disappearing. Don’t worry. If I still owe you money. I’ll still pay you.”

Otherwise, it felt awkward. He did say, “I’ve never been good at, uh, goodbyes.” That much is clear.