HBO Sabotaging Fan-Favorite Comedy Series Because Of Politics?
If you’ve ever tuned in to an episode of Last Week Tonight, you likely already know that the series has garnered massive critical and audience acclaim for its brash combination of curse-word-laden jokes and deep political insight.
Over the course of 11 seasons, host John Oliver has led audiences down rabbit holes regarding international politics, infrastructure bills, and even a long-running feud with a small Connecticut city and their shiny new sewer plant. Now, according to a recent report in Cracked, it appears that Warner Bros may be intentionally trying to silence the hit series, due to its overt political messaging harming the studio’s bottom line.
Goodbye, Past Episodes
While there hasn’t been any direct confirmation from the Last Week Tonight team that their show is being targeted, fans have been taking notice of some of Warner Bros’ moves over the last few months.
For starters, the media giant recently purged nearly the entire back-catalogue of the show from their Max streaming service, preventing viewers from returning to hit episodes from years’ past.
This is the latest in a long line of baffling choices made by Warner CEO David Zaslav and company, which harms fans and creators alike.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Merciless Purges
Warner Bros have previously shuttered access to a wide variety of popular original content on the Max platform, including animated shows like Infinity Train.
The studio has also cancelled and shelved fully-completed films such as Batgirl and Coyote Vs. Acme, dooming the highly-anticipated projects to languish on hard-drives for the foreseeable future.
While these developments have been frustrating to fans, and even driven some to commit acts of online piracy, WB’s decision to put Last Week Tonight in the crosshairs likely stems from John Oliver’s inability to swallow corporate demands.
Oliver Doesn’t Spare Zaslav
The former Daily Show correspondent has made an incredibly lucrative career out of attacking his so-called “Business Daddies,” whether that means putting Warner Discovery, AT&T, or others on blast in the process.
Oliver has repeatedly used his Last Week Tonight platform to take digs at the business decisions of Max executives, and has even name-dropped David Zaslav personally with some scathing and hilarious insults.
Is Oliver’s Humor Too On Point?
While Oliver’s behavior is obviously foreign to the sensibilities of a standard late-night host, who would typically be happy to put on a family-friendly variety show that follows the standards and practices of its corporate overlords, it should be noted that the host is a protege of Jon Stewart.
Stewart was himself censored and ultimately cancelled from performing a desk show at Apple TV+ due to his refusal to shy away from heavy topics such as the Israel-Palestine conflict, as well as the terrifying rise of artificial intelligence.
In the case of Last Week Tonight, fans have theorized that the show’s loud-and-proud propensity for pointing a middle finger at the establishment is making Warner Bros execs squirm more and more as the 2024 election draws nearer.
Oliver May Already Be Taking Steps
Despite the purging of Last Week Tonight‘s back-catalogue from Max, fans can still catch new episodes on YouTube shortly after they air.
The word on the street is that John Oliver and his team have purchased the distribution rights to the show, and have been slowly releasing full episodes from the beginning of the 11-season-long run bit by bit through their official YouTube channel.
While it may be a while before the entire show is available to stream front to back, this is certainly a step in the right direction for Last Week Tonight‘s independence from the Warner Bros machine.
Source: Cracked
