# Ranking of Daily show correspondents. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290 "2010-07-11T12:08:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/1 "2010-07-11T12:08:29Z")
(since I started watching in 2004) 1. Stephen Colbert 2. John Oliver 3. Rob Cordry 4. Wyatt Cynac 5. Ed Helms 6. Rob Riggle 7. Wyatt Cenac 8. Jason Jones 9. Dan Bakkedahl 10. Samantha Bee 11. Olivia Munn. Special credit to Larry Wilmore and John Hodgeman, who are great, but not correspondents. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/2 "2010-07-11T12:42:54Z")
No love for Steve Carell or Aasif Mandvi? Both have been on since 2004. If we’re limiting outselves to 2004-present, I agree with most of your list, but I wouldn’t put Wyatt Cenac on there twice! I’ve been watching since the Craig Kilborne era, and I liked Beth Littleford way better than Samantha Bee. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/3 "2010-07-11T13:15:56Z")
My appreciation for Olivia Munn is growing. I should probably rephrase that. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/4 "2010-07-11T14:42:13Z")
Can’t rank 'em, 'cause I don’t know all of 'em, but I do have a comment. > [@Maserschmidt](#): > > My appreciation for Olivia Munn is growing. > > I should probably rephrase that. Well, I’ve noticed her too, and while her delivery seems a bit shaky in the couple of skits I saw, she seems likeable enough. Anyway, since I wasn’t familiar with her career, I looked her up on Wiki. This item from her bio cracked me up. [Quote=Wikipedia] On June 3, 2010, Munn premiered in her new role as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show.[14] Her hiring prompted criticism from Irin Carmon of Jezebel, who questioned Munn’s credentials and accused the show’s production of sexism in hiring Munn, whom Carmon characterized as a sex symbol.[15] [/Quote] Questioned her credentials. As a fake correspondent on a fake news show. OK, maybe questioning her status as a comedian instead, but still. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/5 "2010-07-11T15:42:04Z")
Because The Daily Show is _so_ well known for hiring only hot chicks. Nobody can top Colbert, which is why he got his own show, but Rob Riggle did a damn good job. John Oliver has been absolutely hilarious with the World Cup coverage, too. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/6 "2010-07-11T15:47:04Z")
> [@mr.jp](#): > > (since I started watching in 2004) > > 1. Stephen Colbert > > 2. John Oliver > > 3. Rob Cordry > > 4. Wyatt Cynac > > 5. Ed Helms > > 6. Rob Riggle > > 7. Wyatt Cenac > > 8. Jason Jones > > 9. Dan Bakkedahl > > 10. Samantha Bee > > 11. Olivia Munn. > Special credit to Larry Wilmore and John Hodgeman, who are great, but not correspondents. I like your list, although I’d place Samantha Bee dead-friggin’-last, and believe Wyatt Cenac is more of a 4 than a 7. Why’d you list him twice anyway? ETA: And where’s Mandvi in your list? I’d place him in 7th position. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/7 "2010-07-11T16:03:25Z")
I like Olivia Munn. I mean yeah, I greatly enjoy looking at her and imagining dirty, horrible things but I actually enjoyed her work on “Attack of the Show.” It’s probably going to take her a little bit to get comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/8 "2010-07-11T17:43:02Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > I like your list, although I’d place Samantha Bee dead-friggin’-last, and believe Wyatt Cenac is more of a 4 than a 7. Why’d you list him twice anyway? > ETA: And where’s Mandvi in your list? I’d place him in 7th position. Hehe, this is neat. The 7th Wyatt Cenac was supposed to be Mandvi. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/9 "2010-07-11T19:39:08Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Well, I’ve noticed her too, and while her delivery seems a bit shaky in the couple of skits I saw, she seems likeable enough. She just did her first remote piece (as opposed to the bluescreen bits) this past week and did a pretty good job. I can’t argue with her bottom ranking because she’s such a newbie, but she’s got potential and could really play on her other, uh, attributes to real humorous effect. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/10 "2010-07-11T19:56:04Z")
I’d say: Colbert Mandvi Oliver Carell The rest are also-rans, with Samantha Bee possibly being my least favorite. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/11 "2010-07-11T20:04:53Z")
Larry Wilmore is the Senior Black Correspondent. He doesn’t go out and do reports, but since the show has become well known, all the fun has gone out of them. They used to be about letting people show themselves to be idiots. But all the idiots are on the game. Now the various reporters behave like idiots, which just isn’t that funny. Larry is the most consistantly funny person on the show after Jon. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/12 "2010-07-11T20:16:11Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Questioned her credentials. As a fake correspondent on a fake news show. > > OK, maybe questioning her status as a comedian instead, but still. The complaint, which is actually a pretty good one, is that TDS didn’t hire a female correspondent for seven years, and when they finally did it was one who had made her name mostly as a sexpot for geeky guys. They claim TDS is a boys’ club and that Munn is just the sort of woman that a boys’ club would hire. I think Munn’s first few segments have been good, and I think once she finds her voice she’ll be a great correspondent. But I also hope that the show takes the criticism to heart and looks for some up-and-coming female comics and actresses when they hire the next one. Maybe they could re-hire Beth Littleford and rescue her from those Laughing Cow commercials. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/13 "2010-07-11T20:18:21Z")
Samantha is hot or not. Sometimes her bits are funny, sometimes cringeworthy. I still like her. Oliver is taking over. He is on almost every day. Colbert deserves a show of his own. Cordry, Helms and Riggle are the same . I like Lewis Black on the show too. I have seen Munn on" Attack of the Show". I think after a while she will do fine. She allows herself to be the butt of jokes. Few really pretty women can do that. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/14 "2010-07-11T20:24:19Z")
Of the current batch: 1. Jon Oliver He’s the only one whose appearances consistently add to the comedy. Most of the others leave me impatient for more Jon Stewart monologue time. Larry Wilmore’s pretty much a one-trick pony. The trick’s amusing, but getting a little frayed around the edges. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/15 "2010-07-11T20:59:34Z")
Colbert has aways been great, but I can’t stay up late to watch his show. (I thought his skits with Ed Helms were the funniest ever 😃 ) Jon Oliver is amazingly good. He was already a decent comic in the UK (you can find him on “Mock the Week” and other places on You Tube), and I think he’s gotten eve better in the 'states. He co-presents an hilarious podcast [“The Bugle”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bugle) if you want more of him. I guess Aasif Mandvi is my next favourite, and the rest have their good and bad nights so it’s pretty mixed up. (I don’t have a “least” favourite"). ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/16 "2010-07-11T21:02:05Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > The complaint, which is actually a pretty good one, is that TDS didn’t hire a female correspondent for seven years, and when they finally did it was one who had made her name mostly as a sexpot for geeky guys. They claim TDS is a boys’ club and that Munn is just the sort of woman that a boys’ club would hire. See, I’d never heard of Munn before she got on TDS, and my first thought on seeing her was not “Woo! Hottie!” In any case, now this [letter from the TDS chicks](http://www.thedailyshow.com/message) makes more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/17 "2010-07-11T21:03:56Z")
No love for Mo Rocca? I really like almost all of the current correspondents. There was sort of a nadir around '05-07 when Carrel and Colbert left, Samantha Bee started her string of pregnancies and we were left with the Jones and Riggle and the new guy whose name I can’t remember, none of whom were as good as the old staff. But John Oliver and Asif Mambi are both excellent, and the correspondent segments are worth watching again. Munn seems funny so far. Complaints that she was hired for her looks would be more compelling if she wasn’t doing a good job,(and I don’t think she’s the only correspondent from a non-comedic background either, Mandvi seems to have come from a traditional acting background (maybe they’re just moving away from having the writing staff over-lap with the on-camera talent)). ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/18 "2010-07-11T21:04:59Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Colbert deserves a show of his own. Oliver, you mean? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/19 "2010-07-11T21:13:12Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > I agree with most of your list, but I wouldn’t put Wyatt Cenac on there twice! Racist. Anyhoo, of the current batch, I guess I’d rank them as: Jon Oliver. Sam Bee/Jason Jones (they’re funnier together). Aasif Mandvi. Wyatt Cenac. I’ve only seen Olivia Munn once. Hormonal responses aside, it’s too early to tell. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290/20 "2010-07-11T21:15:13Z")
> [@Nanoda](#): > > Colbert has aways been great, but I can’t stay up late to watch his show. (I thought his skits with Ed Helms were the funniest ever 😃 ) Colbert’s show seems to be getting more sophomoric and less relevant. He still has moments, but the writing seems desperate at times. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranking-of-daily-show-correspondents/546290.md?page=2)