John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” will live on for another year, TheWrap has learned.
The late-night host has signed a new deal to extend his time with the premium cable network for another year, meaning the show will carry on until at least the end of 2027. This marks a change from his previous three-year contract cycles amid uncertainty surrounding the impending Paramount Global merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO’s parent company.
“Last Week Tonight” is currently airing its 13th season, which will run through November.
Oliver has been critical of his own parent company, mocking Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav as his “Business Daddy.” After Paramount’s $110 billion bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery was approved, he joked that he may soon be reporting to a new billionaire daddy.
“It turns out we might be getting a new business daddy,” he said in a March broadcast. “Yeah, not great news. If I may quote anyone who’s ever accidentally sat on their Roku remote, ‘Oh sh-t, I’m in Paramount now. How the f–k do I get out of this?’”
“Last Week Tonight” has been an Emmys hit for HBO. Over the course of its 13 seasons, the series has accrued 32 Emmy wins and 73 nominations. Some awards commentators even believe its outpouring of success has led to two Emmy rule changes designed to give other series a shot.
The shorter deal extension reflects the larger threats facing late-night television. It follows CBS’ cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” earlier this year following the Paramount-Skydance merger. The decision was reportedly due to financial concerns, though many, including Colbert, still believe the move was politically motivated.
ABC temporarily suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night program after he made comments about Charlie Kirk following Kirk’s assassination. Both Kimmel and Colbert have been repeatedly singled out by President Donald Trump for mocking him.
Oliver also has a long history of mocking Trump, most notably with his “Donald Drumpf” campaign which generated its own lengthy Wikipedia page. Last year, he also compared Trump’s administration to “authoritarianism” and called Trump a creep who liked to hang out with Jeffrey Epstein.
“Last Week Tonight” is produced by Avalon and Oliver’s Sixteen String Jack Productions. Oliver, Tim Carvell, Liz Stanton, Jon Thoday and James Taylor executive produce the show, with Paul Pennolino serving as director.
