When it comes to the linear ratings, The Daily Show sits behind the likes of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Considering it’s broadcast vs. cable, that’s not too surprising. However, one thing The Daily Show linear ratings are proving is that late night TV isn’t dead.
According to Deadline, The Daily Show ended 2025 with a bang, pulling in its highest-rated year since 2020. When it comes to the share of the audience, it’s the biggest in the last decade. This is all basedon the Live+3 ratings straight from Comedy Central.
Monday nights are the strongest for The Daily Show
It won’t be too surprising to learn that Monday nights are the biggest draw for viewers of The Daily Show. In fact, it’s No. 1 across the late-night cable shows among the 18-34 and 18-49 demos. While there’s not a lot of competition, it shows that people are still tuning in. It also shows that people are happy that Jon Stewart is back.
However, each night has seen an increase in the viewership. The 18-49 demo rating between 2024 and 2025 grew by 16%. In a world where people keep saying late night TV is dead, The Daily Show proves that is not the case. However, people are tuning into late night TV in different ways now, and that can be seen from other viewing figures.
Social views and shares are up considerably
People are tuning in via social media the next day, making it clear that people are changing how they watch. Comedy Central went on to share that The Daily Show’s social views were up 72% in 2025, with 6.7 billion people reached. Engagements were up 45% and total minutes consumed were up 44%.
There were concerns that the ever-rotating hosts throughout the week would affect the series, but that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. However, The Daily Show has opted for Tonny Chieng to host Tuesday to Thursday during the first week of January, with Stewart hosting the Monday night show as usual.
While the current Administration tries to silence some of the late night show hosts, they’re not going down quietly. On top of that, the viewers aren’t turning away. Jimmy Kimmel just recently won the Best Talk Show award at the Critics Choice Awards, and now The Daily Show has just scored its highest ratings in five years with its highest share in 10 years. Things are looking up for late night TV.
The Daily Show airs Monday to Thursday at 11/10c on Comedy Central.