# Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014)

> A half-hour weekly satirical deep dive into the week's news, politics and current events, hosted by John Oliver.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/54163

## Facts

- Seasons: 13
- Episodes: 380
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: comedy, reality
- Created by: John Oliver
- Network: HBO
- Cast: John Oliver, David Kaye, Keith B. Alexander, Simon Ostrovsky, Fareed Zakaria, Alison Sweeney, James Scott, Sarah Baker
- TMDB rating: 8.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3530232/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: none
- Tone: irreverent, breezy, cutting, indignant, playful

## What critics say

Viewers broadly rate the show as a sharp, long-form satirical take on the week's news, with its audience rating holding solid through most seasons before slipping in recent years.

## Synopsis

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014-present) is an American satirical news comedy series created by John Oliver for HBO. Host John Oliver anchors each half-hour broadcast, delivering extended, research-heavy monologues that dissect a single political, legal or social issue from the past week and build toward a punchline that often becomes a real-world stunt. Rather than a conventional talk show, the program runs as a weekly satirical deep dive, with a studio audience, a sprawling production crew and a long run of thirteen seasons and hundreds of episodes that keeps the format consistent. Fans of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee will recognize the blend of informed reporting and sharp irreverence. The tone is breezy and cutting, with indignation sitting beside absurd humor, and the atmosphere is that of a fast-moving newsroom with an unusually lengthy attention span. Audiences who want to understand current events through pointed comedy, rather than through straight reporting, will find the show's mix of research and mischief rewarding, even when individual segments divide opinion.

## Shows like Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

- [Blunt Talk (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55390)
- [The Day Today (1994)](https://ember.film/tv/2622)
- [Important Things with Demetri Martin (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/6646)
- [Stay Hungry (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/1105146)
- [The Fix (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/27729)
- [The Daily Show (1996)](https://ember.film/tv/2109)
- [Who Is America? (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/69184)
- [The Newsroom (2012)](https://ember.film/tv/14567)
- [The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/53590)
- [Adam Ruins Everything (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/57093)

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