Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Production== [[File:John Oliver November 2016.jpg|thumb|John Oliver, host of ''Last Week Tonight'']] Oliver described his preparations for the show to an interviewer for ''[[The Atlantic#The Wire|The Wire]]'': "... I basically have to watch everything. The only thing I kind of watch for pleasure is [[Fareed Zakaria GPS|Fareed Zakaria's show]] on Sundays ... That and ''[[60 Minutes]]'' I watch for pleasure, or maybe ''[[Frontline (American TV program)|Frontline]]'' ... I have a TV on in my office all the time and I'll generally flick around on that from [[CNN]], [[Fox News|Fox]], [[MSNBC]], [[Bloomberg Television|Bloomberg]], [[CNBC]], [[Al Jazeera America|Al Jazeera]] ... I'm watching with a certain thing in mind and that is how to see a story told badly."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zuckerman, Esther |date=May 1, 2014 |title=John Oliver: What I Read |url=http://www.thewire.com/entertainment/2014/05/john-oliver-what-i-read/361405/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504083727/http://www.thewire.com/entertainment/2014/05/john-oliver-what-i-read/361405/ |archive-date=May 4, 2014 |access-date=May 4, 2014 |website=The Wire}}</ref> He said to another interviewer that he is concerned about dealing with [[news values|old news]]: <blockquote>If something happens on a Monday, realistically all the meat is going to be picked off that bone by the time it gets to us β there's probably barely a point in doing it ... I think we'll be attracted to some extent by stories that are off the grid ... Our show may end up skewing more international in terms of stories.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hoxie |first=Angie |date=August 13, 2014 |title=Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Changing journalism for the better |url=http://unfetteredequality.com/2014/08/13/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver-changing-journalism-for-the-better |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218055110/http://unfetteredequality.com/2014/08/13/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver-changing-journalism-for-the-better/ |archive-date=February 18, 2015 |access-date=February 18, 2015}}</ref></blockquote> [[Tim Carvell]], executive producer of ''Last Week Tonight'', explained in an interview how the cast and crew deal with a half hour of Oliver speaking without any [[Television advertisement|commercial]] breaks.<ref name="usnews">{{Cite web |last=Sneed, Tierney |date=April 22, 2014 |title=Why ''Last Week Tonight'' Will Not Just Be ''The Daily Show'' on Sundays |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/04/22/5-things-to-know-about-last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504081746/http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/04/22/5-things-to-know-about-last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver |archive-date=May 4, 2014 |access-date=May 4, 2014 |website=[[U.S. News & World Report]]}}</ref> {{blockquote|Structural considerations are leading to changes in the content in the show that will inherently make it different from ''The Daily Show'' ... We realized early on, you don't necessarily want to hear anybody talk to you for a half an hour straight β even John, who is very charming β so we are constructing these little, produced comedy elements that will serve the function of commercial breaks throughout the show, which will let us get out of the studio, get us away from John's voice and break the show up a bit.}} Carvell also revealed that HBO gave them freedom in choosing guests for the show, advising them not to feel obligated to feature celebrities.<ref name="usnews" /> When asked by an interviewer about "[[correspondent]]s" such as those featured on ''The Daily Show'', Oliver replied, "we're not going to be a parody news show, so no people pretending to be journalists."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Furlong |first=Maggie |date=April 30, 2014 |title='Last Week Tonight,' Two Days Later: John Oliver on His First Show, Dream Guests, and Old White Racists |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/blogs/tv-news/last-week-tonight-john-oliver-interview-two-days-later-222215388.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619185957/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/blogs/tv-news/last-week-tonight-john-oliver-interview-two-days-later-222215388.html |archive-date=June 19, 2018 |access-date=May 4, 2014 |website=Yahoo!}}</ref> In early March 2020, the show went on temporary hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 12, 2020 |title=All the Shows and Movies Shut Down or Delayed Because of Coronavirus |url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/films-tv-delayed-coronavirus-canceled-1203532033/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314234304/https://variety.com/2020/film/news/films-tv-delayed-coronavirus-canceled-1203532033/ |archive-date=March 14, 2020 |access-date=March 20, 2020 |website=Variety}}</ref> The show returned on March 29, 2020, being filmed in Oliver's home with no studio audience due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], and produced largely by virtual communication.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Late Night Hosts Are Also Working From Home β With Varying Results |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/04/09/831174892/late-night-hosts-are-also-working-from-home-with-varying-results |url-status=live |access-date=February 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927180610/https://www.npr.org/2020/04/09/831174892/late-night-hosts-are-also-working-from-home-with-varying-results |archive-date=September 27, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wright |first=Megh |date=March 30, 2020 |title=John Oliver Says Trump Has 'F β β β β β β Stage Envy' Over Coronavirus |url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/03/john-oliver-coronavirus-last-week-tonight-march-29.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401011352/https://www.vulture.com/2020/03/john-oliver-coronavirus-last-week-tonight-march-29.html |archive-date=April 1, 2020 |access-date=April 13, 2020 |website=[[Vulture.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Radulovic |first=Petrana |date=March 30, 2020 |title=John Oliver returns, filming new episodes from his home |url=https://www.polygon.com/tv/2020/3/30/21199504/john-oliver-last-week-tonight-return |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414025053/https://www.polygon.com/tv/2020/3/30/21199504/john-oliver-last-week-tonight-return |archive-date=April 14, 2020 |access-date=April 15, 2020 |website=Polygon}}</ref> The show remained there until it resumed filming, in a new studio, in September 2021. Oliver has stated that he has "full [[artistic freedom|creative freedom]], including free rein to [[Criticisms of corporations|criticize corporations]]", and frequently pokes fun at [[HBO]]'s (now former) parent company [[AT&T]], referring to it as the show's "business daddy".<ref>{{Citation |title=Tech Monopolies: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXf04bhcjbg |access-date=2023-06-06 |language=en}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page