The Daily Show, Comedy Central's popular late-night show, is adding staff writer and correspondent Josh Johnson to its list of rotating hosts. This change comes at a very important time for the show, which has witnessed a big rise in ratings since Jon Stewart came back to the Monday night desk. The pending merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media and recent changes in the late-night TV environment make the show's future dubious as well.
Josh Johnson: The New Voice of The Daily Show and How He Makes Us Laugh
Josh Johnson, a stand-up comedian and Emmy-nominated writer, is currently the host of The Daily Show from Tuesday to Thursday. Johnson started writing for the show in 2017 and became an on-air journalist in February 2024. He worked as a writer and performer on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon before he worked for Comedy Central.
Josh Johnson's Journey: From Being a Writer to Being a Host
Johnson's road to the host's chair shows that he is a funny person who always helps out. People say he wrote for more than 860 episodes of The Daily Show. His promotion to correspondent earlier this year and now to a rotating host show how much he's moved up in the show's ranks.
Looking at Josh Johnson's unique way of being funny
Johnson's funny voice is unique and generally includes keen, observational humor that deals with current events and societal issues. His stand-up specials, including 2021's #(Hashtag) and 2023's Up Here Killing Myself, show that he can talk about complicated subjects in a funny and original way. His funny story "Catfishing the KKK" got a lot of attention online, with over 13 million views on YouTube. Johnson also posts videos of his open mic routines and performances on his personal YouTube page. These videos reveal his profound, consistent, and frequent comic output.
@ComedyInsider: Josh Johnson's keen wit and contemporary humor make him a great choice to host "The Daily Show." Not only is he new, but he also has a new point of view.
The Daily Show Host Rotation: How It Works and How People React
Johnson joins the show's existing Tuesday through Thursday hosts, Ronny Chieng, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta, and Desi Lydic. They had been in charge of the show since Trevor Noah left in 2022. With Jon Stewart hosting on Mondays, this rotating host concept has helped The Daily Show keep a wide mix of voices and types of comedy.
Chieng, Klepper, Kosta, and Lydic: The Power of the Rotating Desk
The alternating hosts each have their own qualities that they bring to the desk. Jordan Klepper is known for his immersive field projects, which generally involve political gatherings. Ronny Chieng's sharp analysis gives a worldwide view. Michael Kosta and Desi Lydic both give their own funny views on the news of the day. This way of working together keeps the content new and lets people make political satire in different ways.
@TVNewsAnalyst: The Daily Show's rotating host format, with Jon Stewart hosting on Mondays, is a great example of how to adapt to how people watch TV these days. It keeps the content new and different.
Jon Stewart's lasting impact and return to The Daily Show
Jon Stewart's return to The Daily Show in February 2024, first for the fall elections and now until 2025, has had a big effect on the show's ratings and cultural significance.
How Jon Stewart Helped the Daily Show's Ratings
Stewart's return brought the show back to life, raising its ratings and cultural relevance. 930,000 people watched his first night back live, making it the most-watched episode of the show since March 2018. When repeats and streaming were included, the number rose to over 3 million. In the first quarter of 2025, his Monday shows had an average of 1.34 million total viewers, which was 5% more than in the fourth quarter of 2024. This spike helped The Daily Show get its best quarterly share in ten years among people aged 18 to 49.
@LateNightScoop: Jon Stewart's comeback has definitely given "The Daily Show" fresh vitality and set new records for ratings. His presence reminds us of how powerful sharp political commentary can be.
The Daily Show Ratings: A Close Look at How Many People Watch and What the Late Night Scene Is Like
Even while linear viewership for late-night TV shows has been going down, The Daily Show has found a distinct niche, especially since Stewart came back and the show has a strong online presence.
How The Daily Show Stacks Up Against Other Late Night Shows
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was the most popular show at 11:35 PM in the first quarter of 2025, followed by Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. But all three had less views than the prior quarter. The Daily Show, which airs at 11:00 PM, only lost a little bit of viewers during that time, with a 1% drop in overall viewers and a 2% drop in the key demographic. In Q1 2025, Gutfeld! on Fox News had its highest ratings ever, with a 14% increase in its nightly average among all viewers.
Even if fewer people are watching linear TV shows late at night, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has always been the most popular show on all of TV for people aged 18 to 49.
The Daily Show's use of social media and digital strategy
By making its social media approach a top priority, The Daily Show has been able to keep up with how people watch TV these days. It wants to give its viewers interactive contact points by giving them access to unique digital content, behind-the-scenes looks, and real-time reactions to breaking events. Some late-night shows wait to post content until after the show airs, but The Daily Show has a dedicated digital team that reacts in real time on Twitter and TikTok.
This method has worked quite well. The Daily Show had the most interesting social media audience of any late-night show in 2022, and it was also the most watched late-night show on social media throughout all of television. It got 4.1 billion impressions, 3.5 billion views, and 250.8 million interactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. It had 1.8 billion social views in the second quarter of 2025, which was its best quarter ever on social media. This digital reach is important for getting younger people interested who might not watch traditional linear broadcasts.
@SEOProTips: "The Daily Show" is doing a great job of figuring out the future of late-night TV, from ratings spikes to host changes. If you want to know what's going on in the world, you have to watch it.
Is the Paramount Global-Skydance merger a threat or an opportunity for The Daily Show?
The planned merger between Paramount Global, the parent company of Comedy Central, and Skydance Media has made the future of numerous Paramount brands, including The Daily Show, less assured. Jon Stewart himself has said that he is worried about what will happen to the show.
The merger's effects on politics and money
The merger is coming at a time when media businesses are having a hard time with their finances since ad income is going down and viewership is changing. The $16 million settlement between Paramount and Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview has made things even more difficult. A lot of people, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have said that this deal might be perceived as a "bribe" to get the Trump administration's approval for the merger, which is needed from the FCC chairman.
Stewart said on his podcast, The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, that he hadn't heard anything from Skydance officials about the future of The Daily Show. He said, "They might sell the whole place for parts." I really don't know. We'll take care of it when we have to. This openness shows that many people in the sector are worried.
The Cancellation of Colbert and Its Effects on Paramount Shows
CBS, which is also a part of Paramount Global, recently said that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert would be canceled. This has made people even more worried about other series. Colbert publicly slammed Paramount over the Trump deal just a few days before the show was canceled. CBS said the decision was "purely financial" because "late night is a tough time," but many people, including Colbert himself, have questioned this reason because The Late Show had great ratings.
People are guessing that the timing may have something to do with politics, like the merger and the Trump settlement. The Daily Show is in a tough spot because it is recognized for its biting political comedy and regular criticism of Trump. Some observers, on the other hand, say that The Daily Show's lower production expenses would make it more tempting to Skydance than more expensive late-night shows on networks.
@MediaWatchdog: Even with merger talks and late-night shakeups, "The Daily Show" still makes important political jokes. In a media world that is always changing, its strength shines through.
The Daily Show is still getting praise, though, with 12 Emmy nominations this year, including for Outstanding Talk Series and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series.
The Daily Show's Long-Term Plan and What to Expect in the Future
Even though there is still some doubt, the fact that Josh Johnson is joining the host rotation shows that the multi-host model is still going strong. With this plan, the program can try out numerous humorous styles and change to fit what the audience wants. There is still the matter of a permanent host, but the current system is flexible and gives people a lot of different points of view.
The Daily Show is in a good place for the future because it has been able to use digital media and connect with younger viewers, even if its traditional broadcast home changes. Its ability to stay culturally relevant and give sharp political commentary, whether on linear TV or streaming services, will be important for it to be popular in the late-night scene. Jon Stewart's words about "landing on our feet" suggest that the show can change and move to other locations or formats if it needs to.