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Kamala Harris may have lost election night, but Jon Stewart and “The Daily Show” took home a W. The Comedy Central live special was the most-watched episode ever on Paramount+ on its premiere day, outperforming the average “Daily Show” episode in 2024 by 275%, according to internal data from Paramount+.
The episode also performed well on social media, generating almost 40 million views and 4 million engagements. That viewership was a 83% increase compared to election coverage from “The Daily Show” in 2020, as well as a 160% increase in engagement compared to that same time. Additionally, the episode saw a 161% increase in social interest compared to a typical episode of “The Daily Show.” Jon Stewart’s monologue saw 472K engagements on TikTok alone, making it the No. 1 most engaged with election night video to come from the TV universe.
The special’s linear performance on Comedy Central was not immediately available due to ongoing negotiations between Paramount and Nielsen. VideoAmp data, which the company has been using for viewership measurements in the interim, for Nov. 5 has not been made available.
Titled “The Daily Show Presents A Live Election Night Special With Jon Stewart: Indecision 2024: Nothing We Can Do About It Now,” the installment marked Stewart’s fifth-ever show released on an election night and his third-ever live election special. Previously, Stewart hosted live specials for the Comedy Central late night show in both 2008 and 2012.
Though “The Daily Show” has aired live episodes this year, this one was particularly notable in how it embraced the show’s full lineup of correspondents. Each of the four members of the News Team — Michael Kosta, Jordan Klepper, Desi Lydic and Ronny Chieng — were given their own bit that played to their comedic strengths. More junior correspondents Troy Iwata, Josh Johnson and Grace Kuhlenschmidt also appeared in the hourlong special. But as is usually the case when he’s hosting, Stewart was the one who stole the show.
Between his impassioned assurance to viewers that “This is not the end” to saying “Blow me” to pollsters, Stewart scored some of the biggest laughs of the evening. The live election special continues a positive viewership trend for “The Daily Show” since Stewart’s return. The series’ live episode during the second presidential debate was the highest rated episode of “The Daily Show” since September of 2017. Its ratings were also 92% higher than those of an average episode hosted by Stewart (0.572 vs. 0.298), and its audience share was up 62% compared to the average 2024 episode hosted by Stewart.
The late night show’s first live debate special also secured impressive numbers. It averaged a 0.256 rating, up 212% compared to Stewart’s quarter-to-date average rating of .082, and earned a share of 2.84. That was a 154% increase compared to Stewart’s quarter-to-date average share of 1.12.
