Will The Daily Show with Trevor Noah be cancelled by Comedy Central?

The Nightly Show’s cancellation by Comedy Central could serve as a warning for Trevor Noah and The Daily Show.

This week’s episodes of the Comedy Central shows are noteworthy not only because they’re the only late-night series that aren’t on hiatus, but it will also mark the last week the lineup will be intact ahead of a major shakeup. The network announced today that The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore has been cancelled, leaving The Daily Show with Trevor Noah to cover the upcoming election alone, while @Midnight will temporarily move up half an hour despite its name. An official replacement will be named sometime next year.

The move may hint that Noah is also in trouble after failing to live up to the ratings and expectations set by his predecessor, Jon Stewart, in what will be a year as host next month, but Comedy Central has maintained that they’re happy with the South African comedian, especially in his more recent episodes where he’s finally seemed to find his voice.

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“In the last couple of weeks — leading up to the conventions and especially the conventions — we feel like Trevor got to a whole new level in terms of having a strong voice and point of view,” Comedy Central president Kent Alterman told the New York Times. “It’s been no surprise to us. We expected him to take time to find his rhythm and find his way.”

While ratings for The Daily Show have certainly dropped since Stewart’s departure, they’re still significantly higher than The Nightly Show’s recent average of 776,000 viewers, averaging 1.3 million viewers a night vs. 2.1 million for Stewart’s last year as host. It also currently ranks as the No. 2 late-night show among adults 18-34, and does particularly well among young men ages 18-24, the network’s target demographic. However, it has lost its status as a critical darling, recently getting snubbed by the Emmys for the first time in over a decade.

The show is part of a franchise that began with Craig Kilborn in 1996, so it’s unlikely the network would outright cancel the series. Instead, Noah could conceivably be fired and replaced with another host once his contract expires, but Comedy Central has previously indicated that the current incarnation of The Daily Show does better in foreign markets than Stewart’s version of the show given Noah’s international appeal. It also does well digitally on Hulu, YouTube, Facebook and other platforms, which is increasingly valuable as more viewers cut the cord and networks rely on delayed-viewing rather than just live ratings. But the show’s segments need to gain traction as election season rolls on amid an increasingly competitive market that’s populated by Daily Show alums like Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee and John Oliver, whose Last Week Tonight clips consistently go viral.

Next: Why Trevor Noah missed The Daily Show taping, MTV MAMAs

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs Monday through Thursday at 11 p.m. on Comedy Central.

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