2ND UPDATE FRIDAY 7:50 AM: Comedy Central just officially announced the 40-week pickup for @midnight, whose production calendar will mirror that of Comedy Central’s other late-night shows, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. “We’re amazed at how quickly ‘@midnight’ has resonated with our fans,” said the network’s Kent Alterman. “If the internet catches on and social media becomes a part of pop culture, we think we’ll really have something here.”

UPDATE 9:08 PM: Chris Hardwick just confirmed the pickup news on @midnight, announcing that the show will return with new episodes on January 6. “This was an experiment we did for a month, you guys watch, you join in the #HashtagWars, and we are so, so, so, so grateful,” he told the studio audience.

EXCLUSIVE 9 PM: Comedy Central‘s late-night block is officially expanding to 1.5 hours. I’ve learned that after a successful four-week trial run, which ends tonight, the network’s newest late-night entry — midnight show @midnight hosted by Chris Hardwick and produced by Funny or Die — is being given a big vote of confidence with a 40-week pickup. The renewal is not surprising given how strong the show has done in Comedy Central’s target young and male demos. @midnight has the lowest median age in late-night, 32. In Men 18-34 (237,000 through 11/10), Men 18-24 (106,000) and persons 18-24 (142,000), @midnight is the third-highest-ranked late-night show in all of television — cable or broadcast — behind only Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. In adults 18-34, it is No. 3 among all cable late-night programs (323,000), and it ranks fourth in adults 18-49 with 453,000. Among total viewers, @midnight averages 624,000 and handily tops fellow midnight cable newcomer, TBS’ The Pete Holmes Show, in every ratings category. Not surprisingly, given @midnight’s social media focus, it is the most popular late-night show (broadcast or cable) on Twitter by a mile. Hardwick is executive producing with Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Mike Farah for Funny Or Die; Alex Blagg, Jason Nadler and Jon Zimelis of Serious Business; showrunner Jack Martin; and Alex Murray of Brillstein Entertainment. Hardwick is repped by CAA and Brillstein, Funny Or Die is with CAA.

Related: ‘@midnight’ Opens Well With Target Young Guy Crowd