logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2022
31m 58s

The Unfunny Decline of Comedy Central

The Ringer
About this episode

In light of Trevor Noah’s recent announcement that he will be exiting 'The Daily Show,' Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw discuss what has happened to Comedy Central and why the once-beloved comedy hub has been reduced to a channel for reruns. They also discuss the value the network brings to Paramount and what the future looks like for 'The Daily Show' and other late-night television shows.


Email us comments, questions, or ideas at thetown@spotify.com


Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw


Producer: Craig Horlbeck

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Aug 22
‘The Traitors’ and How to Craft Hit Reality TV in 2025
Live from the Edinburgh TV Festival in Scotland, Matt is joined by television producer and executive Stephen Lambert to discuss the current state of reality TV, his newest hit, ‘The Traitors,' how to cast reality competition, what streamers are looking for in 2025, how that's cha ... Show More
45m 20s
Aug 20
Why Fox Is Finally Entering the Streaming Wars
Matt is joined by Pete Distad, CEO of Fox's direct-to-consumer streaming platform, to discuss Fox One, the company's first significant foray into streaming, which will offer all of Fox’s news, sports, and entertainment branded content together in one platform. They talk about the ... Show More
32m 27s
Aug 18
The 10 Worst Things to Happen to Hollywood Since 2010
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to look back on the past 15 years in Hollywood and determine which moments were the most detrimental to the industry. In descending order, they each rank and explain their top five moments that had the most meaningful and negative effect o ... Show More
38m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2022
Introducing: Beyond The Scenes From The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Imagine The Daily Show, but deeper. Host Roy Wood Jr. dives further into segments and topics covered on The Daily Show — from racial injustice to gun control to K-pop. Each week, he’s joined by Daily Show writers, producers, correspondents, as well as outside experts to unpack a ... Show More
1m 6s
Jun 2021
Chris Harrison Gets Replaced & Katt Williams on Cancel Culture
Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay react to the latest Chris Harrison news and who’d a thought David Spade would replace the host? (15:16), and Tiffany Haddish is cast as Flo-Jo (25:55) while the conservative world debates Critical Race Theory (36:55). Finally, legendary standup comed ... Show More
1h 52m
Mar 2024
Joe Rogan is 3x more popular than the next podcast, The Office reboot details, Craig Ferguson may return to Late Night!
Airport Lunch Outrage Sparks Debate Inside the World of Podcasting Podcast Popularity and Audience Insights The Office Universe Expansion and Late Night Talks Craig Ferguson's Standup Philosophy and Life After Late Night Tig Notaro's Special and Hollywood Anecdotes This episode i ... Show More
10m 32s
Dec 2023
Trevor Noah (What Now? with Trevor Noah) drops new trailer, Taylor Swift criticized for attending comedy show
Trevor Noah has a new special coming out on December 19th. Johnny Mac finds himself contemplating whether to watch a suggested Kevin Hart and Chris Rock special. Comedy critic Jason Ziniman's two-paragraph review adds an interesting perspective on the variety of comedy offerings. ... Show More
18m 3s
Feb 2024
Shane Gillis hosts SNL - breakdown, analysis, clips and why most of the media hot takes are WRONG
Johnny Mac dives into a daily round-up of comedy news. The episode features a humorous tweet by Kermit Apios, a review of the past weekend's Saturday Night Live (SNL) hosted by Shane Gillis, and commentary about SNL's Trump sneakers sketch. Johnny also discusses controversial mom ... Show More
17m 28s
Mar 2022
Nick Kroll’s Big Mouth Shame-Filled Dirty Talk (rerun)
This week, we have another favorite we wanted to rerun: host Jesse David Fox sat down with Nick Kroll to discuss the difference between shame and guilt and how both concepts factor into writing a show like Big Mouth. Stream Big Mouth and Human Resources on Netflix. Learn more abo ... Show More
1h 2m