TV series research proposal
Introduction
The Daily Show is a comedy and satire American show, and the current alliteration of the show is “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.” It features the host in monologues and interviews referencing and making fun of the news of the day. The show has presented itself as the “fake news show,” and it continues to maintain that it is a comedy and not an actual news show. The tv show has been in existence since 1996, and for the twenty-four years it has been running, it has increasingly become political. The numerous episodes which at the moment are 3388 episodes are a tapestry of the show’s movement from general comedy to an almost exclusive focus on political satire. In many ways, the show is a representation of America’s journey since 1996.
Historical Background
The United States was just being introduced to the hyper-partisanship that would define modern American politics when the daily show was launched. It was the era of Newt Gingrich and his reiteration that a “revolution” had reached in Washington as the Congress was taken over by the Republicans in 1994. The world which at that time was liberal looked to be in retreat, and people could consider that “The Daily Show” was a reaction to the rise of conservatism. The show also matured in the days of President George W. Bush and Jon Stewart’s avowed efforts to keep politicians in check. The show was born and raised in a hyper-partisan political environment, and its content reflects that reality.
Trevor Noah, the current host of the show, took the tall order of replacing the then long-time host Jon Stewart on Comedy Central’s Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning talk/news satire program. Trevor Noah joined “The Daily Show” as a contributor in the year 2014 two years after making his U.S. television debut on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” .Noah has been lauded for his peculiar, insightful take on current and trending events and proficiency to sell out international comedy shows. It’s also helpful that he is, in the words of his Comedy Central boss, “wickedly funny
Industrial Environment
Lizz Winstead and Madeleine Smithberg orchestrated the idea of the daily show, they created it, and then the idea of the show was presented to Comedy Central. The company ran it as a comedy show, which featured segments like “This Day in Hasselhoff History.” The first episode on July, 22nd 1996, was marked by confusion as to what the focus would be. Comedy Central wanted to avoid too much politics while the producers intended for the show to focus on politics. The push and pull would eventually be settled when Jon Stewart came in and proved to be a rating hit. The show enjoyed a Nielsen rating of 7 for the first six straight years of Stewart’s tenure.
Format and Meaning
Amazingly a total of five basic acts are featured in the show, and the audience expects both entertainment and information from all the five acts. The opening sets the agenda for the show before the host brings in the correspondents in the second one. The recurrent segments are featured in the third act, which is then followed by an interview. Later on, the show is brought to a halt by the host with a frequent profound reiteration on the events of the day. The show often brings correspondents into the studio, thus giving them a chance to interact directly with the audience. The show presents itself as the nation’s conscience, and it creates meaning by trying mightily to focus on real issues affecting real people.
Audience
As of the latest statistics, it indicates that the daily show by Trevor Noah has a viewership number of roughly three million people. Furthermore, the show has a youtube subscription of more than seven million; the other social media handles and platforms receive thousands of comments frequently from individuals interested in the show. The audience tends to be young and liberal, with most of them residing in urban areas. Data shows that the show is a source of news for many young people, regardless of the creators’ and the host’s intentions (Fox and Steinberg 237). The show’s audience appears to trust the host in particular and the show at large going by social media comments and interactions. The hosts have become cult figures for many.
Unique element
The TV show is peculiar because of the imitation it does concerning the trending issues and news in the country and across the world. Furthermore, the show presents its uniqueness by combining humor to the current events that occur in the United States and around the world, making it unique. I find that The Daily Show by Trevor Noah is unique and a bit different from other TV series because of its ability to entertain the audience and promote a free speech society.
Cultural relevance
The Daily Show has established a specific culture whereby even a person that doesn’t care about news events or watching TV can view the show because of the touch of humor it has. The show unites people from all walks of life, especially in the United States, regardless of race or political affiliations.
Work Plan
In the next couple of weeks, I intend to conduct research and an array of consultations concerning the show. Furthermore, I intend to make relevant studies to find out the reason for the wide following the audience is indicating towards the show. Nonetheless, the daily show is very sarcastic; hence I plan to do my research and find out why the creators of the show opted for this kind of format. In the next few weeks, I intend to study the impact of the host’s satire and entertainment on all segments of society in a free speech society. Due to the broad audience of the daily show, the impact of this show remarks on the public is unavoidable. It includes its comprehension of politics, news, and showbiz. Some individuals may perceive this show as an ordinary talk show for fun, while others are more apprehensive about the standard hitches and sarcasm stated in the show and more considerate. Also, I would like to study why the deep sarcasm and humorous tone of the program can benefit a lot of audiences, as well as the positive and adverse influence of the play on the audience.
Therefore through several sources such as the social media handles of The Daily Show, I am sure that I will be able to get some crucial information that will help me reach an appropriate conclusion on my paper. Furthermore, I plan to read relevant books concerning the production of tv series and the various formats concerning the development of these tv shows.
Conclusion
The Daily Show is among the TV series that are widely viewed worldwide during the unique format it possesses. The TV show connects several people, primarily due to its creativity in combining humor satire and politics, which are the significant aspects of society.
Works Cited
Fox, J. R., & Steinberg, E. (2020). News You Can’t Use Jon Stewart’s Daily Show Media Critiques. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 97(1), 235-256.
Hurt, Avery Elizabeth. Trevor Noah. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc, 2019.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cc.com/shows/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah
Weijers, J. P. M. “Comedy and Politics–The Daily Show’s influence on public opinion: framing and criticism in the 2004 and 2008 general elections.” (2018).