Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: John Oliver, Last Week Tonight

Last Week Tonight host John Oliver discusses Stephen Colbert and the state of late-night comedy (but he’ll pass on Jay Leno’s comedy advice).

Published Wed, 06 Aug 2025 15:07:03 -0500 by Tom Chang

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Article Summary

  • John Oliver reflects on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show cancellation and its impact on late-night TV

  • Oliver expresses sadness for Colbert’s staff and legacy, hoping late-night comedy will evolve

  • He firmly rejects Jay Leno’s advice to “reach both sides,” saying comedy isn’t for everyone

  • Oliver stresses that his show tackles systemic issues, aiming to engage across political lines

If there’s a consensus about late-night comedy, it is that comedians used to be able to skewer those in power without concern for any repercussions regularly. Whether it’s NBC’s Saturday Night Live since 1975, Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, or the current crop of talent, the government, especially the sitting president, has always been fair game for humor. Unfortunately, with the recent cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show, there’s a chilling effect on late-night TV. The current crop of hosts from rival networks, including Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart, and John Oliver, appeared on Colbert’s program in the audience as a show of solidarity. The Last Week Tonight host, who made his initial comments during what was supposed to be a celebration of the debut of the rebranded Erie AA-MILB team, the SeaWolves to the Moon Mammoths, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the evolving nature of late-night TV, former Tonight Show host Jay Leno’s appeal to his peers to reach to both sides, and not tailoring his content.

Colbert“Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver and Stephen Colbert in “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”. Image courtesy of CBS/Paramount
‘Last Week Tonight’ Host John Oliver on The State of Late Night TV

When asked about his concern about late-night TV’s future, “On network TV? Yeah, it’s constantly evolving. What’s happened to ‘The Late Show’ is incredibly sad for comedy and, obviously, for the staff in that building. It really resonated with me when Stephen said he was hoping to hand this show over to someone else,” Oliver said. “You hope that the franchise lives on partly because there are generations of teenagers watching those shows and deciding, “Maybe I’d like to be a comedy writer,” and then maybe writing on that show. So, just as there are Colbert writers that watched Letterman, there will be future writers that watched Colbert, and you want that to continue. I’m sure it’ll find a way to exist in some form, we just don’t yet know exactly what that’s going to look like for network television.”

On Leno’s comments about how late-night TV has been polarizing, saying, “Nobody wants a lecture,” Oliver bluntly responded, “I’m going to take a hard pass on taking comedic advice from Jay Leno.” Pressed further on how comedy should still “try to be for everyone,” he explained. “Who thinks that way? Executives? Comedy can’t be for everyone. It’s inherently subjective. So, yeah, when you do stand-up, some people try to play to a broader audience, which is completely legitimate. Others decide not to, which is equally legitimate. I guess I don’t think it’s a question of what you should do because I don’t think comedy is prescriptive in that way. It’s just what people want. I think our show clearly comes from a point of view, but most of those long stories we do are not party political. They’re about systemic issues. Our last few shows were about gang databases, AI slop, juvenile justice, med spas, air traffic control. I’m not saying that these don’t have a point of view in them. Of course they do. But I hope a lot of them actually reach across people’s political persuasions. You want people to at least be able to agree on the problem, even if you disagree on what the solution to it is.”

You can check out the entire interview for more on Oliver’s open commentary on the “business daddy” of the former Warner Bros Discovery, which owns HBO, the influence of former Late Show host David Letterman, streaming, and more. Last Week Tonight airs Sundays on HBO and is available to stream on HBO Max.

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