‘The Daily Show’ Ratings: Michael Kosta and News Team Takeover Beat Celebrities in Second Round of Guest Host Experiment

A year after Trevor Noah’s departure, Comedy Central still has not named a permanent replacement for “The Daily Show,” and pressure is reportedly building for Paramount to select a new host ahead of the 2024 election.

In the second wave of its guest-host experiment, correspondents of the late-night talk show outpaced celebrity anchors with viewers. Michael Kosta, who kicked off the latest round of guest hosts on Oct. 16, was the most-watched guest host of the new lineup, averaging 545,500 total average viewers for his week as host, according to live plus seven-day Nielsen figures.

“The Daily Show” news team takeover hosted by Dulcé Sloan, Ronny Chieng, Desi Lydic and Jordan Klepper — which hosted three days ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday rather than four — scored the second-highest viewership of the hosts with an average of 530,333 total viewers.