Film

The Ratings Are In for John Leguizamo’s ‘The Daily Show’ Guest Host Stint

Lead Photo: HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 29: John Leguizamo attends the premiere of Universal Pictures' "Violent Night" at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 29, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic)
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 29: John Leguizamo attends the premiere of Universal Pictures' "Violent Night" at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 29, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic)

The verdict is in, and John Leguizamo has collected an impressive silver medal for his weeklong run as a  guest host of The Daily Show last month.

According to Nielson data reported by The Wrap, Leguizamo had the second largest average viewership since the comedy news program switched to featuring guest hosts late last year after full-time host Trevor Noah left the show.

During his time guest hosting from March 27-30, Leguizamo pulled in an average of 633,000 total viewers. To break it down, he scored 672,000 viewers on Monday, 683,000 viewers on Tuesday, 561,000 viewers on Wednesday and 614,000 viewers on Thursday. This put him in second place among all The Daily Show guest hosts. Not too bad for being the series’ first-ever Latine to sit behind the anchor’s desk, huh?

“I got top spot! #2,” Leguizamo wrote on social media. “Thank you.”

Coming in ahead of Leguizamo at the top spot was former Democratic senator and former Saturday Night Live cast member Al Franken, who hosted the week before Leguizamo. Franken brought in an average of 792,000. Right behind Leguizamo in third place was comedian and actress Sarah Silverman with an average of 613,000 total viewers.

Other Daily Show guest hosts since the beginning of the year have included actor and former White House staffer Kal Penn; comedian Hasan Minhaj; comedian and actor Marlon Wayans; and comedian and actor Leslie Jones.

In all, The Daily Show saw a 13% boost in ratings with guest hosts. A search for a permanent host is still underway. So far, Penn and Jones have voiced their interest in taking the reins on a full-time basis. But we’re crossing out fingers for a Latine host like John Leguizamo.