Distant Evaluation of the Daily Show

This feels a bit like a circus, doesn’t it?

John Stewart’s return to the Daily Show has been quite the topic. It’s well-documented that he’s back, and surprisingly, the show recently hit its highest quarterly ratings in a decade. There’s quite a bit of chatter about it.

Now, after a few points, here’s the kicker: they reported a 15% rise in ratings, going from about 342,000 viewers to 393,000. That’s the best they’ve seen in four years.

Right? You get it? From 342,000 to a staggering 393,000. *Pause for a chuckle*

But wait, there’s more…

Stewart’s slot falls on Monday, which isn’t shocking – the show’s numbers were noted to rise, with the Monday average climbing by 8%, from 511,000 to 550,000 viewers.

Comparatively, Greg Gutfeld’s late-night offering on Fox regularly pulls in up to 3 million viewers.

So, in the grand scheme of things, Stewart’s numbers reflect a minimal increase… from virtually nothing.

Honestly, when I saw that hype headline, I couldn’t help but think: “Are we really going down this road again?”

For two decades, the media has been attempting to rally excitement around Stewart, even when ratings suggest otherwise. At one point, he surpassed a million viewers, and I poked fun at his numbers then. And here we are again, back promoting a guy who’s returned to Comedy Central after not quite hitting the mark elsewhere.

Some context here…

Stewart’s 550,000 is impressive, but let’s not forget that a Hallmark holiday movie managed to snag 647,000 viewers in July. Even something like Mystery at a Blind Frog Farm drew in 623,000 viewers.

Then you’ve got Sean Hannity with 2.33 million viewers, and The Price Is Right pulling in 3.96 million.

And let’s not forget Greg Gutfeld, boasting 2.8 million viewers.

If hitting a 10-year high means losing to a show about blind frogs – and just for the record, I have nothing against blind frogs; I even donate to their foundation – that’s not great.

And Stewart’s online numbers? They don’t shine either. He averages 1-3 million views, which isn’t all that special compared to other online content.

Let’s get some perspective: Gutfeld! often attracts four to six times the audience of Stewart. That’s context that feels necessary.