Oliver Doesn't Twist

John Oliver has spent the past decade turning late-night television into a vehicle for hard-hitting journalism. On “Last Week Tonight,” he and his team take deep dives into complex, often uncomfortable topics—policing, immigration, authoritarianism, etcetera—packaging them with enough humor to make the bitter pills easier to swallow.

We caught up with Oliver this week for a rare interview and spoke to him about the tightrope walk between comedy and seriousness, how the show decides what’s worth covering, and the challenge of keeping things fresh after 12 seasons. We also got into his clash with HBO over YouTube delays, his views on Donald Trump, and whether he ever feels pressure to pull punches in a political climate where speaking out carries new risks.

Below is our conversation, lightly edited for style.

You cover a lot of serious topics on “Last Week Tonight"—from policing and immigration detentions to authoritarianism—yet you find ways to inject humor into the segments. How do you approach that delicate balance of serious and funny?

It’s definitely something we think about a lot. Whether we strike the right balance is obviously subjective; I hope the jokes make some of the more complicated, or depressing material we’re presenting slightly easier to stomach, but if they make it worse, I sincerely apologize!

“Last Week” takes deep dives into complex topics that other late-night shows and news programs might only skim over. How do you decide which issues to cover, and what’s the research process like behind the scenes?

It’s very intense. We’re generally working on each story for 6 weeks, calling experts and trying to shape the piece before we even think about writing jokes. We learned that the hard way early on, when jokes we loved got killed after research came in and demolished the underlying facts. Now we try to make sure that, to the extent possible, we’re writing jokes on solid foundations.

You’ve used humor as a vehicle for real-world impact, like buying medical debt or setting up satirical corporations. Do you see your role as purely comedic, or do you feel a sense of responsibility to drive change?

We really do see this as a comedy show. To the extent that we feel “responsibility,” it’s to get the story right.

Last season, HBO delayed publishing new episodes of “Last Week Tonight” on YouTube for several days. You were pretty vocal in your opposition to the change. To our surprise, HBO reversed course this year. Why was this an important issue to you

It was really important to me. Having those long stories on YouTube in a timely way felt like a good advert for both the show and the network. I’m very grateful they changed their mind.

You’ve long been critical of Donald Trump, recently calling his administration “deeply unserious people doing deeply stupid things with massively serious consequence.” Many Trump critics are turning down the volume out of fear the government could go after them. Are you worried?

No. Although, to be honest, I’m very glad I already have my citizenship.

After 12 seasons on HBO, how do you keep “Last Week Tonight” fresh and exciting for viewers? Are there any other comedy formats you'd like to venture into?

I’m very happy doing this. And the way the world is heading, I’m not worried about running out of ideas anytime soon.

• The White House can't get its story straight. Kipp Jones pointed out that on the Sunday shows, officials sent "mixed messages on whether the tariffs are up for negotiation." [Mediaite]

  • Rupert Murdoch continued to showcase his split brain to the world. While Fox News fervently backs Donald Trump on his tariffs, The WSJ ran a brutal weekend front page prominently pointing out the president went golfing amid the economic turmoil. [Bluesky]

• Sean Hannity, who spent decades portraying himself as a Constitutionalist, appeared on the "Full Send" podcast and said he loves Trump talking about a third term because it alarms his critics. Notably, however, Hannity left open the idea Trump could challenge the Constitution and seek a third term. [Mediaite]

• Trump kicked the TikTok can down the road again, delaying a ban by another 75 days. [CNN]

• Hugo Lowell reported on "how The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg got added to the White House Signal group chat." [The Guardian]

• Amber Ruffin addressed the White House Correspondents Dinner drama on the latest episode of CNN's "Have I Got News For You." [Mediaite]

• Lester Holt delivered the keynote speech at the George Polk Awards, talking up the importance of being clear with audiences: "It’s largely on us when the nuance of a particular story is missed or buried or grossly misunderstood. If we are to fulfill our role as a pillar of democracy, we have to do more than report. We have to illuminate and drive greater understanding.”

• Status Scoop | For its annual “Yesteryear Issue,” New York magazine will on Monday celebrate its 57th birthday with its biggest photo portfolio ever: 29 Broadway legends, shot by Mark Seliger, across 42 pages. The issue brought in the highest volume of theater and culture advertising in recent years, I'm told.

• Status Scoop | Paramount+ released the trailer for "The Children of October 7," which features conversations between Montana Tucker and kids who recounted the trauma of the terror attacks. The film hits the streamer April 23. [YouTube]

• The "Saturday Night Live" cold open skewered Trump's tariffs announcement, with a cameo from Mike Myers playing Elon Musk. [YouTube]

  • "SNL," of course, also repeatedly ripped Morgan Wallen for walking off the show's stage early last week so he could get back to "God's country." [YouTube]

  • And Jack Black returned to host for a fourth time, declaring he's "back." [YouTube]

• The NCAA men's Final Four delivered big ratings, averaging about 15 million viewers each, per early Nielsen data. [THR]

• Mike White teased a "mouth agape shocking" season three finale for "The White Lotus." [THR]

  • Woody Harrelson said he turned down a role on season three of "The White Lotus" because production "conflicted with a pre-planned family vacation." [Deadline]

• "The Pitt" executive producer R. Scott Gemmill said season two will take place on a holiday weekend. [Deadline]

  • By the way, if you have not watched "The Pitt" yet—fix that STAT. I binged it this weekend and can’t believe I waited this long. It's tense, gripping, and at times gut-wrenching.

• "A Minecraft Movie" set a video game movie record, debuting to $157 million at the domestic box office and delivering theaters a much-needed jolt.

• "A Working Man" claimed the No. 2 spot on the box office with $7.3 million.

• Elsewhere, "The Chosen: Last Supper Part 2" debuted with $6.7 million and "Snow White" fell to $6.1 million in its third week.

[Data via Box Office Mojo]