Who Will Host ‘The Daily Show’? Michael Kosta Beats Celebrities in Round 2 of Guest Host Trials

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.

The latest round of tryouts brought back favorites like Sarah Silverman and Leslie Jones. Third place in the competition went to Silverman, who hosted the week of Nov. 6, averaging 522,750 total viewers — down from the average viewership of 613,000 she brought in when she hosted Feb. 13-16 during the first round of celebrity hosts.

The network also tested newcomers Desus Nice, Charlamagne Tha God and Michelle Wolf, who were set to host a week of episodes earlier this year, before the Hollywood double strike scrapped those plans.

But the viewership of the show didn’t vary substantially during the test period, hovering around 500,000 per night.

The search for Noah’s successor has become a much-watched competition in Hollywood. “The Daily Show” has been around since 1996, when it premiered on Comedy Central with Craig Kilborn in the host chair. But Jon Stewart dramatically boosted the show’s cultural importance after he took the hosting reins in 1999. The comedian’s dedication to calling out “Bulls–t Mountain” — his favored phrase for Fox News — turned the late-night program into the revered comedy institution it is today, balancing witty political satire with fearless reporting.

Stewart passed the baton to Noah in 2015, leaving with a final show that brought in 3.5 million total viewers — the second highest in the show’s history. The ratings tumbled from there, with Noah carrying on Stewart’s legacy through 2022. By August of this year, The Daily Show averaged just 383,000 viewers, a 65% drop from its 2015 ratings, according to Nielsen.

But the ratings have surged in recent months during the rotating slate of guest hosts.

Jones, Silverman and Charlamagne Tha God are rumored to have joined the pool of finalists, according to a report from Deadline, alongside previous guest hosts Kal Penn and Chelsea Handler.

A spokesperson for “The Daily Show” did not return TheWrap’s requests for comment on the progress of the search.

Read below for the full breakdown of how this round of “Daily Show” guest hosts fared ratings-wise.

Michael Kosta – 545,500 total average viewers

“Daily Show” correspondent Kosta swept his peers as this round’s most-watched guest host. Kosta was the first to take the reins during this lineup, hosting the week of Oct. 16. He had a strong start as the Monday episode debuted to 578,000 viewers before hitting his most-watched night on Oct. 17 with 586,000 viewers. Kosta maintained the crowd on Oct. 18 with 542,000 total viewers before hitting his least-watched night that Thursday when he co-hosted with “Daily Show” correspondent Ronny Chieng, pulling in 476,000 viewers.

“The Daily Show” News Team Takeover — 530,333 total average viewers

Similar to Kosta, “The Daily Show” correspondents delivered solid viewership when helming the late night show, scoring the second-highest viewership of the round. During the week leading up to Thanksgiving, Dulcé Sloan hosted the Monday, Nov. 20, broadcast, which brought in 481,000 viewers, while Ronny Chieng drew in 508,000 viewers on Tuesday. Guest hosts Desi Lydic and Jordan Klepper scored the week’s highest viewership on Wednesday, Nov. 22, with 602,000 total viewers.

Sarah Silverman – 522,750 total average viewers

Returning favorite Sarah Silverman took third place in average total viewers — similar to the first round of celebrity hosts on “The Daily Show” when she averaged 613,000 from Feb. 13-16. This time, the comedian averaged 522,750 viewers the week of Nov. 6. Starting off the week with 539,000 viewers on Monday, Silverman’s audience dropped to 506,000 viewers on Tuesday, Nov. 7 — election night in some states — and 462,000 viewers on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The comedian scored her most-watched night on Nov. 9, with 584,000 viewers, just below Kosta’s highest viewership during his week of hosting of 586,000 viewers.

Michelle Wolf – 516,500 total average viewers

Wolf landed as the fourth most-watched guest host with 516,500 total average viewers as she closed out this round of guest hosts. Starting out with her lowest viewership of the week on Monday, Nov. 27, with 444,000 people, Wolf’s audience grew to 568,000 viewers on Tuesday, and 564,000 viewers on Wednesday, before closing out the week on Thursday, Nov. 30, with 490,000 viewers.

Leslie Jones – 503,250 total average viewers

Jones scored fifth place in total viewers averaging 503,250 viewers — down from 535,000 when she hosted the show Jan. 17-19. Jones hosted after Silverman during the week of Nov. 13, beginning with 459,000 viewers on Monday and 505,000 viewers on Tuesday, Nov. 14. The comedian averaged 493,000 viewers on Wednesday, before hitting her highest viewership of the week on Thursday, Nov. 16, which was co-hosted with Klepper, with 556,000 viewers.

Desus Nice – 447,000 total average viewers

Nice was the second guest host of the round during the week of Oct. 23. During his time as a host, Nice scored the sixth-highest viewership of the group, beginning with 459,000 viewers on Monday and 449,000 on Tuesday, Oct. 24. Nice soared to his highest viewership of the week on Wednesday, with 484,000, before sliding down to 396,000 viewers on Thursday, Oct. 26.

Charlamagne Tha God – 443,000 total average viewers

Charlamagne Tha God hosted for the first time from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2. He hit his highest viewership of the week on Monday with 472,000 viewers, before drawing in 443,000 viewers on Tuesday. The trend continued as Wednesday’s viewers decreased to 433,000 while the Thursday, Nov. 2, telecast drew 424,000 viewers.

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