Trevor Noah got off to a good start with his debut episode of “The Daily Show” Monday night.
More than 3.4 million viewers watched Noah’s opening night across 12 Viacom channels, including MTV, Spike, and Nick @ Nite, according to Nielsen.
On the channel that Noah will call home, Comedy Central, the host averaged 1.1 million viewers.
Roughly 561,000 of those viewers were in the sweet spot advertising demographic of those aged 18 to 49 years old.
Noah’s simulcasted viewership across multiple networks nearly matched the final Jon Stewart audience from August 6 when the host said goodbye alongside friends like Stephen Colbert and Bruce Springsteen.
Noah’s debut also made a dent on social media where it registered 5.9 million impressions on Twitter, according to Nielsen Social.
Along with the healthy viewership, the 31-year-old South African comedian garnered mostly positive reviews from critics and TV observers.
Some, like Variety’s TV columnist Brian Lowry, felt that Noah’s first night was a good indication that the young host would make the satirical news show his own.
“Noah’s debut found him looking more at ease and in command than he ever did as a correspondent, exhibiting a self-effacing streak about replacing Jon Stewart and a facility for selling jokes at the desk,” wrote Lowry. “While Stewart left big shoes to fill, Noah’s first at bat suggests the format remains durable enough to let him find his footing.”
