u/xakrob

I’ve been watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver consistently since around 2018, and lately I’ve been wondering if anyone else feels like the show just isn’t as funny as it used to be.

I don’t think it’s just politics/advocacy. When I first started watching, I was in college and pretty libertarian/right leaning politically. Even though I disagreed with a lot of John Oliver’s takes, I still laughed constantly because the show felt genuinely sharp, chaotic, and unpredictable.

Now, years later, I’ve moderated a lot politically and probably lean more center-left by American standards after living in Europe. So if anything, I should theoretically enjoy the show more now. But honestly, I feel like the comedy itself has declined over the last 5 years, especially post-COVID.

There are still occasional great moments (the AI cabbage wife thing absolutely), but overall the show feels way more formulaic now.

Older episodes felt like they had stunts and more trolling of organizations/people.

Now it feels like almost every ending is a parody ad or a musical number. The structure just feels very predictable now compared to the earlier seasons.

I have these questions and I thought reddit could help answer them since I’m having trouble finding anything myself:
Did the writers room change?
Did COVID affect the production style?
Did HBO rein things in legally/budget wise?
Did the show become more advocacy journalism than comedy?

Thanks for any insight!

I’ve been watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver consistently since around 2018, and lately I’ve been wondering if anyone else feels like the show just isn’t as funny as it used to be.

I don’t think it’s just politics/advocacy. When I first started watching, I was in college and pretty libertarian/right leaning politically. Even though I disagreed with a lot of John Oliver’s takes, I still laughed constantly because the show felt genuinely sharp, chaotic, and unpredictable.

Now, years later, I’ve moderated a lot politically and probably lean more center-left by American standards after living in Europe. So if anything, I should theoretically enjoy the show more now. But honestly, I feel like the comedy itself has declined over the last 5 years, especially post-COVID.

There are still occasional great moments (the AI cabbage wife thing absolutely), but overall the show feels way more formulaic now.

Older episodes felt like they had stunts and more trolling of organizations/people.

Now it feels like almost every ending is a parody ad or a musical number. The structure just feels very predictable now compared to the earlier seasons.

I have these questions and I thought reddit could help answer them since I’m having trouble finding anything myself:
Did the writers room change?
Did COVID affect the production style?
Did HBO rein things in legally/budget wise?
Did the show become more advocacy journalism than comedy?

I’ve been watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver consistently since around 2018, and lately I’ve been wondering if anyone else feels like the show just isn’t as funny as it used to be.

I don’t think it’s just politics/advocacy. When I first started watching, I was in college and pretty libertarian/right leaning politically. Even though I disagreed with a lot of John Oliver’s takes, I still laughed constantly because the show felt genuinely sharp, chaotic, and unpredictable.

Now, years later, I’ve moderated a lot politically and probably lean more center-left by American standards after living in Europe. So if anything, I should theoretically enjoy the show more now. But honestly, I feel like the comedy itself has declined over the last 5 years, especially post-COVID.

There are still occasional great moments (the AI cabbage wife thing absolutely), but overall the show feels way more formulaic now.

Older episodes felt like they had stunts and more trolling of organizations/people.

Now it feels like almost every ending is a parody ad or a musical number. The structure just feels very predictable now compared to the earlier seasons.

I have these questions and I thought reddit could help answer them since I’m having trouble finding anything myself:
Did the writers room change?
Did COVID affect the production style?
Did HBO rein things in legally/budget wise?
Did the show become more advocacy journalism than comedy?

Strong man authoritarian who leans in on the illicit revenue streams to survive sanctions by running operations like the mafia.
Maduro was a drug lord dictator. Lukashenko is basically that, but with cigarettes and balloons.

They even have the same playbook:
Step 1) tank the economy
Step 2) replace with criminal network and bribes
Step 3) act offended when anyone notices or calls them out
Step 4) blame the CIA or NATO or whatever