John Oliver and his band of merry mischief-makers were off last Sunday, leaving me entirely in the dark on how I’m supposed to feel about the past week’s news. Am I outraged? Am I beleaguered? Is there some international animal contest I should be helping him rig?? Help me help you, John!! Anticipating that his absence would send me and others like me in a downward spiral of political angst with nowhere to go, Oliver has offered a fix to tie us over. Kinda sorta. The entire first season of Last Week Tonight is now free on YouTube, with more seasons to be made available soon. Huzzah! For reference, the current episodes are season 11. So, doing the math, does that mean these vintage shows will be Last Week From Last Decade Tonight?

HBO is releasing the entire first season of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on YouTube.

The premium cable network didn’t air a new episode of the weekly talk show on Sunday, April 28 but instead dropped all of Season 1 for viewers to watch for free.

“There’s no new episode this week! But we still have current events. From 10 years ago. This Sunday we’ll be dropping all of season 1 for free on YouTube!” read a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Seasons 2-8 to come, whenever we don’t have a new episode. Trust us, some of this is still completely relevant. Some.”

In years past, Last Week Tonight was made available on YouTube the following day but starting with its current Season 11, HBO opted to delay its release on social media platforms.

“HBO has decided they’re going to wait until Thursday to post them to YouTube from now on,” Oliver wrote on X earlier this year. “I hope they change their mind, but until then, you can see our piece about the Supreme Court on HBO, on MAX, and on YouTube in a few days.”

The network decided to delay the release of the episodes to boost viewership on Max, with a spokesperson for HBO saying in a statement, “When Last Week Tonight with John Oliver premiered on HBO, the convenience of watching on Max did not exist so YouTube allowed flexible viewing for the main story as well as promotional exposure. We are now delaying that availability and hope those fans choose to watch the entire show on Max.”

[From Deadline]

I’m not sure HBO is making the big point they think they are by waiting four days before adding the newest episodes to YouTube, but if it gives them a sense of accomplishment then good for them. It also reminds me of Oliver’s perfect roast of them when they were rolling out the HBO Max app in 2019: “It’s not HBO, it’s just TV.” Nailed it. I’d like to imagine that when HBO decreed they’d be delaying the new episodes on YouTube by half a week, that Oliver saw an opportunity and leveraged it to give us the entire first season for free. At least that’s how it plays out in my cartoonish picturing of their negotiations, with HBO as Snidely Whiplash, Oliver as Rocky, and I guess I’m Bullwinkle — at times a little thick, but enjoying the ride!

As part of the announcement, Last Week Tonight put together a best-of clip reel for that debut season. Yes, the news is technically old, but there’s still much to learn and laugh about! For instance, did you know John Oliver used to have black hair? It seems that much like the presidency, hosting Last Week Tonight really ages a man, follically speaking.

There’s no new episode this week! But we still have current events. From 10 years ago. This Sunday we’ll be dropping all of season 1 for free on YouTube! Seasons 2-8 to come, whenever we don’t have a new episode. Trust us, some of this is still completely relevant. Some. pic.twitter.com/phgfU933FY

— Last Week Tonight (@LastWeekTonight) April 26, 2024

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

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