Comedy Central’s parent company Viacom announced today that it would be expanding the digital efforts of The Daily Show, spinning those online exclusive clips into an increased “presence with several new digital exclusive formats and series in development.”
If you’ve seen a clip from The Daily Show over the past few months, there’s a good chance it’s a segment that never actually aired on the show itself. Recently, show host Trevor Noah has gone beyond the Comedy Central series’ usual format to offer thoughts on recent headlines and for more off-the-cuff conversations with staff and audience members that happen while The Daily Show sets up its next segment.
Noah’s frequent “Between the Scenes” feature now has its own dedicated YouTube playlist on “The Daily Show” channel and has been broadened to include conversations with recent high-profile guests like Oprah Winfrey and Bernie Sanders. These clips have been updated throughout Noah’s hosting tenure, stretching as far back as summer 2016.
One clip from after last year’s World Cup, responding to criticism from French ambassador Gérard Araud, not only gave Noah a chance to defend one of the show’s jokes, but speak to a bigger conversation about France’s history towards multiculturalism. As of now, the eight-and-a-half-minute clip stands as the 10th-most viewed in the Noah era.
This Daily Show expansion comes as part of a massive wave of programming proclamations from across Viacom’s holdings. In addition to reconfirming news of David Spade’s new Comedy Central series, the company also announced a number of additional series coming to YouTube, Facebook Watch, and other streaming outlets.
