We don’t often have news about John Oliver’s show around here, but today we do. LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER has seen its contract come up for renewal, as the show was slated through 2026. Now, most often in this sort of deal, contracts get renewed for 2-3 years, but this time around this HBO show only got a one-year renewal through 2027, which would be the show’s 14th season.
So, why has the award -winning series, with 32 Emmy wins to its credit, not taken the usual 3-year deal at this juncture? Though the host has admitted he is helpless and clueless as to how the new merger might play out, he might just feel as though LAST WEEK TONIGHT…doesn’t have a place in the new regime. And, perhaps Oliver would rather have a say in his show’s fate, and thus, is taking it a year at a time going forward.
To be clear, Mr. Oliver has not tipped off any political views beyond his usual jabs about his “Business Daddy.” He has been doing that for years onscreen, starting way back to when AT&T was the owner. He has certainly taken his digs at David Zaslav, and who hasn’t, and the Ellison team at Paramount is no different. We can’t help but wonder if Oliver suspects that his style of show, filled with a progressive left perspective, wouldn’t survive the Paramount merger, despite Casey Bloys’ presence or not. Or perhaps he truly doesn’t desire working for the Ellisons at all, if the merger indeed goes through.
Earlier this month, a federal judge halted the $110 billion deal at the request of 12 state attorneys general who argued the deal would “extinguish competition” in the industry. But, for now, it is business as usual for John Oliver. He said to THR – “Nothing’s happening, and everything has stayed the same. Who knows? I have absolutely no idea, which is almost helpful to the fact that I do not have any ability to control anything that happens with this merger. We’ll just do what we’ve done—which is – continue like it isn’t happening.”
LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER just came back from a brief summer hiatus and now continues its 13th season through November 2026.
