“One thing I’ve said is, ‘If you’re covering or doing the same thing that I’m doing, then you’re doing the wrong thing,’” Mr. Noah explained. “And we both know that.”

Stuart Miller, another executive producer of “The Opposition” and one of several staff members who are veterans of “The Daily Show,” said that past experience would carry them only so far.

What was crucial, he said, was preparing as much as possible for the rigors of making real shows four times a week.

“We have a clock in a very real way,” he said. “When the show needs to be in rehearsal, when it needs to be delivered. Every minute we’re finding is precious. Ten minutes can make all the difference in the world.”

Back at the warm-up show, Mr. Klepper returned from a fake commercial break to perform a monologue about Disney’s controversial decision to cast a white actor in a live-action remake of “Aladdin.”

As his character, Mr. Klepper proclaimed: “The left-wing team is charging onto the field of ignorance without facts. And once again, we must meet them there.”

Mr. Klepper seemed pleased with the laughter this line elicited. Reverting to himself at the end of the run-through, he told his colleagues, “We might just keep making TV.”