Satire at its best: ‘Last Week Tonight With John Oliver’ returns to HBO
As 24-hour news channels, websites and apps rise in popularity, the public is becoming more invested in national and international news. Indeed, broadcast journalists have become celebrities in their own right, for better or for worse. However, one of TV’s most popular late-night hosts offers a comedic yet critical twist on the news of the week.
John Oliver (“The Daily Show”) returns with a satirical look at the headlines and more in the season premiere of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” airing Sunday, Feb. 18, on HBO. The late-night program features a mix of commentary, comedic sketches and interviews as the intrepid host turns a critical eye to politics, corporations and even the media.
The opener kicks off the fifth season of the program, which premiered in April 2014. Last fall, HBO announced the show had been renewed for three more 30-episode seasons, so fans of the British comedian can expect to see him on the cable channel until at least 2020. When the deal was announced by HBO executive Casey Bloys, the host responded in typical Oliver fashion: with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
“We’re very grateful to Richard Plepler, Casey and everyone at HBO for letting us continue to do whatever it is we actually do,” Oliver said. “We’d also like to thank our staff for all their hard work. We’re incredibly proud of all of you, and rather than tell you that to your face, we’d like to do it in the cold, dispassionate form of a press release.”
For his part, Bloys had nothing but praise for the performer, saying: “His extraordinary genius for rich and intelligent commentary is second to none.”
Oliver has worked his way up through the entertainment industry since starting out as a standup comedian in the United Kingdom. Before “Last Week Tonight,” he was best known to North American audiences for his work on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” as the program’s senior British correspondent, and he later filled in as inter- im host when Jon Stewart (“Rosewater,” 2014) went on hiatus.
His work on “The Daily Show” was well received by critics and audiences alike, and the gig eventually led to his show on HBO. Thanks, in part, to his noholds-barred approach to lambasting politicians, corporations and more, Oliver has gained millions of loyal fans who tune in for his refreshing perspectives on current events, as well as quirky comedy sketches by him and other performers. Viewership for the show is on the upswing, with about 1.2 million live viewers for last season’s finale, which aired Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017. Millions also tune in on the show’s YouTube channel. Oliver was even named one of Time magazine’s list of 100 Most Influential People in 2015.
In its short life, “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” has had a marked influence on politics and business, even as far back as its first season. A 2014 segment on net neutrality is widely credited with prompting more than 45,000 comments on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) electronic filing page, and another 300,000 comments in an email inbox dedicated to a proposal that would allow “priority lanes” for certain internet traffic. Shortly after another piece about underfunded public defenders in New Orleans aired, thousands of dollars were donated by the show’s fans. Oliver and pal Mike Meyers (“Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” 1999) famously urged Canadians to vote against then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the 2015 federal election. In one of the show’s most headline-grabbing episodes, the host interviewed accused whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Purportedly armed with “full creative freedom” from HBO, Oliver has also taken on big tobacco companies, televangelists, debt buyers, coal mining and, of course, President Donald Trump. In fact, Trump has been a frequent topic for the comedian, who has been unabashedly critical of the current administration. While such opinions likely put Trump’s supporter’s off, Oliver has nonetheless established himself as one of the heavy hitters of the modern latenight landscape.
For all of his efforts, Oliver and his team have been handsomely rewarded, both in ratings and in accolades. In fact, to say the show is acclaimed may be an understatement. In its short, four-season existence, it has earned nominations for no fewer than 44 major awards, from Emmys and Critics’ Choice Awards to GLAAD Media Awards and Writers’ Guild of America Awards. For its inaugural season, the show even won a prestigious Peabody, which recog- nizes enlightening and invigorating work.
Other notable wins include back-toback Emmys for Outstanding Writing in a Variety Series in 2016 and 2017, a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Talk Show in 2016, and a Dorian Award for TV Current Affairs Show of the Year in 2016. “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” was also recognized with a Television Critics Association Award for Achievement in News and Information in 2015, though Oliver has insisted that his show is comedy, not journalism. In spite of his intent, commentators from such mainstream media outlets as The New York Times, Time and The Huffington Post have described Oliver’s work as journalism.
No matter how you look at it, fans and critics can look forward to another season of insightful commentary and hilarious, off-the-wall comedy when Oliver and his crew return to the airwaves in “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” Sunday, Feb. 18, on HBO.