I watch comedy shows for a living. My job is to cover what happens overnight while the rest of you are asleep. I watch everything — Fallon, Colbert and Conan, but even the later shows like Seth Meyers and James Corden. On Comedy Central, that means my nerd crushes like Larry Wilmore and Chris Hardwick, and also the new “Daily Show With Trevor Noah” that began in September of this year.
When I write up the morning clip, most times I try to make you laugh before you even watch the video. With people like Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Chris Hardwick, that isn’t difficult. Many times with the new “Daily Show” I find myself throwing in a few extra jokes to try to boost the funny. Yeah, the new “Daily Show” is so deadly that I have to do what I can to punch up the jokes.
I’m not the only one who senses that something is lacking. Since Noah’s takeover, “The Daily Show’s” ratings have fallen like a drunk heckler slipping on watermelon guts at a Gallagher show. Nielsen stats show a 37 percent drop overall. However, there has been an increase in the coveted 18-to-24 demographic by 20 percent, and on-demand streaming (presumably from younger online viewers) has increased by 44 percent.