Comedy Central decides to continue with Chris Hardwick’s late night show @midnight

Chris Hardwick's show @midnight has been picked up for 40 more weeks from Comedy Central. The show had an apparently successful trial run that ended on Thursday and will kick off at the beginning of January, the same time The Daily Show and The Colbert Report come back after their break at the end of the year.

This is big news for the network and follows a pretty exciting announcement for Comedy Central alum, John Oliver, with the announcement of his new HBO show.

"We're amazed at how quickly @midnight has resonated with our fans. If the Internet catches on and social media becomes a part of pop culture, we think we'll really have something here," the network's original programming president Kent Alterman said in a statement.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed some stats:

Through its first three weeks, the trio of Comedy Central offerings registered as the three most-watched series among men 18-34 as well as adults 18-24 among when compared to all late-night shows. Among the broader all-important 18-49 demo, the series lured 453,000 viewers, putting it above Bravo's Watch What Happens Live, E!'s Chelsea Lately and TBS' new entry, Pete Holmes. 

Hardwick, apparently ecstatic, shared his thoughts on the show's continuation: "I don't have adequate words to express how excited I am that we are going to be a fixture of late-night in 2014. Huge thanks to the amazing teams at Funny Or Die, Serious Business, and Tom Lennon and Ben Garant. They've made this process one of the most rewarding and fun experiences of my life. Finally, to the fantastic folks at Comedy Central, I say, POINTS!!!"