BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — After eight years, Birmingham-born comedian Roy Wood Jr. is stepping down from one of the most storied TV shows in late-night television.

Wood Jr., who has been a “correspondent” on “The Daily Show” in 2015, will not return to the program, the comedian told NPR Thursday.

“There’s no sense in me doing what I’ve been doing for the last eight years while concurrently trying to think of a new thing to do,” Wood Jr. said on NPR’s “Morning Edition. “The job of correspondent, it’s not really one where you can really juggle multiple things, and I think eight years, I’ve earned the right to just take a quick break before January.”

Wood Jr. grew up in Birmingham and attended Ramsay High School before working as a comedy writer on 95.7 JAMZ and later becoming a standup comic. He had been considered a leading candidate for the host of “The Daily Show,” following the departure of Trevor Noah earlier this year. When asked about whether or not he would take the job, Wood Jr. said he would consider it.

“If you’re offered the chance to host ‘The Daily Show’ at any point in your life, you have to stop for a second and consider that,” he said. “I think the next question becomes, ‘What does ‘The Daily Show’ look like in 2024? And what does late night look like? That is a huge question that I believe, personally, has to be answered.”

In addition to his work on “The Daily Show” and his standup, Wood Jr. was also the host of the Comedy Central show “This is Not Happening.” In 2018, he shot a pilot for a TV show that would be set in Birmingham called “Jefferson County Probation,” but it was never aired or picked up for a series.