‘The Daily Show’ switches to new logo as rotating slate of guest hosts announced

Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” has updated its logo with an all-new design following the departure of Trevor Noah.

The new logo features the Comedy Central logo, a series of two interlocking “C”s (the outer one is backward) next to a mostly typographic look.

In it, the words “The Daily” are set in red with a matching underline, while “Show” is in blue and features a line over the word.

The font has been switched to a wide, bold italic with distinct angles on the bottom horizontal strokes of the “E” and “L.”

While the design thoughtfully adds a diagonal angle to the left side of the blue line where the two elements come close to intersecting, there’s a rather awkward issue with the bottom of the “L” jutting up oddly against the base of the “Y” in “Daily.”

The choice of red and blue as a color palette, while distinct from recent design choices, isn’t new to the show — which frequently serves up political discussion. 

It’s perhaps noteworthy, however, that red, traditionally associated with the right-leaning Republican party, is on the left of the design, while the left-leaning Democratic party’s blue is on the right, which could be seen as a purposeful flip similar to how the former spinoff “The Nightly Show” used an upside down map on its set.

Since Noah left and Comedy Central has not decided on a permanent replacement, there is no “with” line in the new look.

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Noah’s departure from the show came as a surprise to many.

“The Daily Show” had just returned to its full studio setup in April 2022, which included an overhaul of the set.

Immediately prior to that, the show had been using a modified format and broadcasting from a small studio space tucked inside of parent-company Paramount Global’s second-floor studios in Times Square near the “CBS Mornings” set since Sept. 13, 2021.

While broadcasting from Times Square, the show switched to a distinctly different look and format — a teal-blue with orange-yellow palette and logo in a more condensed and lighter typeface that it had traditionally used.

During the Times Square stint, the show was lit and shot more dramatically and featured a much smaller and more muted set design that appeared to attempt to mimic a space somewhere between a home and news studio.

That look included a row of angled open shelving with a lighted wall behind it as well as areas for both in-person and remote interviews with decorative items scattered throughout along with homey elements such as faux stone, wood and green walls mixed with video walls and panels that brought in elements from news set design.

The logo font used during this period had some unique characteristics, including the distinctly racetrack-shaped “O”s and “R”s with exaggerated loops and short legs. During that time, the lockup also placed the words “The” and “with” in a lighter version of the font with the word “the” turned 90-degrees on its side.

The logo remained when the show returned to the studio in 2022, with some minor tweaks.

The new set’s wood tones and wall maps that appeared inspired by the yellow shade.

It’s not clear if the network will keep the set the same, though, with the notable exception of the front of the anchor desk, most on-set instances of the logo, were shown on LED video panels, meaning they could be swapped out easily.

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“The Daily Show” has been off the air since Noah’s last appearance Dec. 8, 2022 but returns Jan. 17, 2023, with rotating guest hosts.

The 2022 set was outfitted with a significant amount of color-changing LED that could be shifted to better match the red and blue look. 

If the show is looking to move away from the warmer shades introduced in the logo and set redo, it would be relatively easy to swap out finishes or re-light certain areas of the set, such as the world map walls, which are relatively muted and would likely respond to different lighting hues.

Times Square was a transition from the pandemic era-broadcasts that originated largely from Noah’s home — and had been branded on-air as “The Daily Social Distancing Show,” though the official name of the broadcast remained the same.

The “Social Distancing” version of the logo used a very similar look to what had been used pre-pandemic — a bold, wide sans-serif characterized by an “A” with a low crossbar and bold “W.” 

It also mixed in italics for “The” and “with Trevor Noah.”

When the show returns Jan. 17 — it appears to be taking the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday off — former “SNL” cast member Leslie Jones will host through Jan. 19, 2022 (“The Daily Show” traditionally does not air on Friday evenings).

That’s followed by comedian and actor Wanda Sykes the week of Jan. 23, 2023 and comedian D.L. Hughley Jan. 30, 2023. 

Next will be comedian and former late-night talk show host Chelsea Handler the week of Feb. 6, 2023 and actor and comedian Sarah Silverman the week of Feb. 13, 2023.

Daily late night comedy shows have been criticized for their lack of diversity after years of largely sticking with straight, white males as hosts, with Joan Rivers’ brief stint on Fox being the highest profile exception. Sykes also hosted a weekly late-night show on Fox for one season.

The new guest host lineup features two women of color and two other females — with the only man being Black as well. Sykes is openly gay and both Handler and Silverman identify as being of Jewish descent.

Noah, who was born in South African, identified as mixed-race, having a European white father and Black, African mother. His parents’ mixed-race relationship was considered illegal at the time he was born, when South Africa was locked under apartheid. 

Meanwhile, Paramount-owned CBS has an opening coming up on its “The Late Late Show” when James Corden departs sometime in 2023, which could be another opportunity to add diversity to the late-night airwaves.

No replacement has been named for Corden as of this writing.