Last Week Tonight with John Oliver season 3 explained

Bg Colour:
  1. 92bab9
Season Number:3
Image Alt:Oliver stands in front of a teal background with the tagline "back despite popular demand" to his left. Various negative quotes are contained in black boxes and float in front of Oliver.
Num Episodes:30
Network:HBO
Episode List:List of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver episodes

The third season of late-night talk and news satire television program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver originally aired between February 14, 2016, and November 13, 2016, on HBO in the United States. The season was produced by Avalon Television and Sixteen String Jack Productions; the executive producers were host John Oliver, Tim Carvell, and Liz Stanton, with Paul Pennolino as director.

Last Week Tonight aired on Sundays at 11pm, and had a total of 30 episodes in season three. The season was generally well-received, winning four Emmy Awards, a Television Academy Honor, and one WGA Award. The show continued to release the main stories of each broadcast on its YouTube channel after each episode aired. Episodes in the season were credited with influencing US law and culture, a phenomenon dubbed the "John Oliver effect". Prominent instances include the main segment of episode three, titled "Donald Trump", which set an HBO viewership record and received widespread media attention; and the main segment of episode fourteen, about debt buyers, in which Oliver forgave almost $15million in medical debt for 9,000 Americans.

Production

Season three aired from February 14, 2016, to November 13, 2016.[1] [2] The season was produced by Avalon Television and Sixteen String Jack Productions; it aired on HBO in the United States at 11pm on Sundays.[3] Tim Carvell, John Oliver, and Liz Stanton were the executive producers on the season. Writers included Oliver, Carvell, Kevin Avery, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, Scott Sherman, Ben Silva, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, and Juli Weiner. Paul Pennolino directed the season.[4] [5] The team also included researchers with journalistic backgrounds at The New York Times Magazine, ProPublica, CNN, and MSNBC.[6]

Promotional material for the season displayed various negative blurbs criticizing Oliver or Last Week Tonight, like a quote from The Wall Street Journal that the show "makes people dumb".[7] Continuing an idea from season two, Oliver said that the Last Week Tonight production team wanted to create longer segments that went more in-depth into topics. This differed from season one's idea of having many short segments to cover the week's news.[8]

Last Week Tonight intentionally did not cover the 2016 United States presidential election in season two; Oliver called it a "massively overblown occasion" and explained that the team decided to concentrate on "other things that seemed a bit more relevant last year". At a press event for season three, Oliver explained that they may discuss the electoral processes and the candidates, but that the "daily dramas of the campaigns" would not be covered; he explained that "there’s plenty of other people who will do that".[9] On the topic of then-Republican candidate Donald Trump, Oliver said that Last Week Tonight would not cover his campaigning, but expressed interest in discussing "what is happening underneath"; however, many episodes of season three contained segments about the election and Trump's campaign.[10] [11]

Reception

Critical reception

The third season was generally well received. Critics continued to praise the show's comedic but still in-depth segments on current events.[12] [13] Variety commended Oliver's persona as host, describing him as having a "beautifully calibrated, extremely articulate rage". Some critics said that Oliver's quick humorous interjections had "lost its charm", according to The Daily Free Press,[14] but others found that these quips were what made the show compelling.[15] The season's third episode, "Donald Trump", received widespread media attention;[16] [17] [18] [19] many writers criticized the segment's satirizing of "Donald Drumpf", a spin on Trump's name using that of his ancestors, for being xenophobic.

Ratings

Last Week Tonight received an average 5.6million viewers in season three, which HBO said was boosted by its digital streaming services.[20] The show continued to release the main stories of episodes on the Last Week Tonight YouTube channel.[21] "Donald Trump" set an HBO viewership record, according to a spokesperson from the network; a month after airing, it had 23.3million views on YouTube, 62million views on Facebook, and an average gross television audience of about 6million, totaling about 86million views.[22] [23] In April 2024, HBO announced that the full episodes of seasons one through eight would be released on the Last Week Tonight YouTube channel.[24]

Awards

See also: List of awards and nominations received by Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Last Week Tonight received eight Emmy Award nominations for season three, winning Outstanding Variety Talk Series, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series, Outstanding Interactive Program, and Outstanding Picture Editing For Variety Programming for the segment "F*ck 2016" in episode thirty. After season three aired, Last Week Tonight received a Television Academy Honor for "[offering] an intellectually unique perspective mixed with the perfect balance of thoughtful jest".[25] Additionally, Last Week Tonight received the .[26]

Influence

See also: Donald Trump (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver).

Coverage of an issue by Last Week Tonight has been credited with influencing US legislature and culture, a phenomenon dubbed the "John Oliver effect".[27] Episode three of the season covered Donald Trump's career and 2016 presidential campaign. Immediately after airing, web searches for "Donald Drumpf" went viral. By March 1, the date on which the "Super Tuesday" primaries were held, Google Searches for "Donald Drumpf" had surpassed those for two of Trump's opponents.[28] Other media also started reporting on Trump's "short fingers" shortly after the episode's broadcast,[29] [30] prompting Trump to write a Twitter post on March 1 which he stated that he was not aware of any mockery of his "short fingers".[31] After Oliver promoted a Chrome extension that automatically replaced the word "Trump" with "Drumpf", multiple spinoff extensions were created; as a result of a spinoff extension, Wired magazine accidentally published multiple articles replacing Trump's name with the phrase "Someone with Tiny Hands".[32] In addition, episode fourteen covered debt buying in the United States, a practice that Oliver criticized for allowing companies to manipulate people with extreme medical debt.[33] At the end of the episode, the host personally bought almost $15million in medical debt and forgave it for 9,000 Americans.[34] [35] The following year, a Reddit user claimed to have received a letter explaining that their debt had been paid off due to Oliver's philanthropy.[36]

Episodes

See also: List of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver episodes.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: January 15, 2016 . Last Week Tonight Promo: John Oliver Responds to Critics Like Donald Trump, Cher . September 9, 2023 . . en-US . August 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220813184324/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/last-week-tonight-john-oliver-season-3-promo-donald-trump-856250/ . live .
  2. Web site: Jao . Charline . November 13, 2017 . John Oliver on Trump Tactics Last Week Tonight Season Finale . September 9, 2023 . The Mary Sue . en . August 18, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220818164043/https://www.themarysue.com/last-week-tonight-finale/ . live .
  3. Web site: Goldberg . Lesley . October 25, 2016 . TV Premiere Dates 2017: The Complete Guide . September 9, 2023 . . en-US . July 13, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230713015228/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/tv-premiere-dates-2017-guide-924143/ . live .
  4. Web site: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150724012239/http://www.emmys.com/shows/last-week-tonight-john-oliver . July 24, 2015 . April 1, 2020 . Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
  5. Web site: 2017 . Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200518151429/http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver1 . May 18, 2020 . April 1, 2020 . Peabody Awards.
  6. Web site: Miller . Matt . February 4, 2016 . John Oliver Is Finally Ready to Take on Donald Trump . September 9, 2023 . . en-US . September 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220926125418/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/news/a41800/john-oliver-season-three/ . live .
  7. Web site: Chitwood . Adam . January 15, 2016 . Last Week Tonight Season 3 Trailer: John Oliver Returns . September 9, 2023 . . en . January 9, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200109160413/https://collider.com/last-week-tonight-season-3-trailer-john-oliver/ . live .
  8. Web site: Marchese . David . February 22, 2016 . In Conversation: John Oliver . September 9, 2023 . . . en-us . June 25, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230625131531/https://www.vulture.com/2016/02/john-oliver-last-week-tonight-c-v-r.html . live .
  9. Web site: Framke . Caroline . February 14, 2016 . John Oliver on making Last Week Tonight and why he won't focus on the 2016 election . September 9, 2023 . . en . March 20, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160320052802/http://www.vox.com/2016/2/14/10989154/john-oliver-last-week-tonight-season-3 . live .
  10. Web site: Lyons . Joseph D. . October 17, 2016 . 7 Painfully Accurate Ways John Oliver Has Described This Election . 2023-09-15 . . en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20161028084708/https://www.bustle.com/articles/189933-7-painfully-accurate-ways-john-oliver-has-described-this-election. October 28, 2016. live.
  11. Web site: Bradley . Laura . November 7, 2016 . John Oliver Admits He Was 'Spectacularly Wrong' About Donald Trump . 2023-09-15 . . en-US . https://web.archive.org/web/20161110150516/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/11/john-oliver-donald-trump-chicago-cubs-world-series . November 10, 2016 . live.
  12. Web site: Ryan . Maureen . December 9, 2016 . Maureen Ryan's 20 Best TV Shows of 2016 . September 9, 2023 . . en-US . September 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220926201243/https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/best-tv-shows-2016-maureen-ryan-stranger-things-jane-the-virgin-1201936571/ . live .
  13. Web site: Sarkar . Samit . November 17, 2016 . HBO's Last Week Tonight returns in February, even though we all need it now . September 9, 2023 . . en-US . August 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230821070358/https://www.polygon.com/tv/2016/11/17/13669480/last-week-tonight-girls-crashing-premiere-dates-2017-hbo . live .
  14. Web site: Bastress . Samantha . February 18, 2016 . Review: "Last Week Tonight" returns weakly . September 9, 2023 . . en-US . June 10, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160610205750/http://dailyfreepress.com/2016/02/18/last-week-tonight-season-three-review/ . live .
  15. Web site: DeJarnette . Ben . February 18, 2016 . What Journalists Can Learn from John Oliver and Last Week Tonight . September 9, 2023 . MediaShift . en . June 10, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230610002256/https://mediashift.org/2016/02/what-journalists-can-learn-from-john-oliver-and-last-week-tonight/ . live .
  16. Web site: Victor . Daniel . March 2, 2016 . Donald Drumpf: A Funny Label, but Is It Fair . limited . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170226153216/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/03/us/politics/donald-drumpf-a-funny-label-but-is-it-fair.html . February 26, 2017 . The New York Times.
  17. Web site: Matyszczyk . Chris . March 2, 2016 . John Oliver slams Trump for 22 minutes, creates new hashtag for him . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160302211852/http://www.cnet.com/news/john-oliver-slams-trump-for-22-minutes-creates-new-hashtag-for-him/ . March 2, 2016 . March 4, 2016 . .
  18. News: Rosenbaum . S. I. . March 3, 2016 . John Oliver's 'Donald Drumpf' jokes play on the same ugly xenophobia Trump does . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160308115735/https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/03/03/john-olivers-donald-drumpf-jokes-play-on-the-same-ugly-xenophobia-trump-does/?tid=pm_opinions_pop_b . March 8, 2016.
  19. News: Lee . Benjamin . November 14, 2016 . John Oliver on Trump: 'A Klan-backed misogynist internet troll' is president . en-GB . . September 9, 2023 . April 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230408140422/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/14/john-oliver-trump-wins-election-last-week-tonight . live .
  20. Web site: Pedersen . Erik . July 18, 2016 . HBO's Digital Platforms Push Game Of Thrones, Veep & Others To Series Highs . September 9, 2023 . . en-US . December 3, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221203053047/https://deadline.com/2016/07/game-of-thrones-veep-silicon-valley-hbo-digital-platforms-ratings-1201788213/ . live .
  21. Web site: Cabin . Chris . July 11, 2016 . John Oliver Views YouTube Comments for Last Week Tonight . September 9, 2023 . . en . January 8, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200108103447/https://collider.com/john-oliver-last-week-tonight-clip-youtube-comments/ . live .
  22. News: Stelter . Brian . Brian Stelter . March 30, 2016 . Even John Oliver enjoys a Drumpf bump . . live . March 31, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160331201056/https://money.cnn.com/2016/03/30/media/john-oliver-donald-trump/index.html . March 31, 2016 .
  23. Web site: Hensch . Mark . March 30, 2016 . Report: 'Donald Drumpf' nets John Oliver ratings high . September 9, 2023 . . en-US . September 2, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210902030156/https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/274720-report-donald-drumpf-nets-john-oliver-ratings-high . live .
  24. Web site: Tinoco . Armando . April 28, 2024 . HBO Dropping Last Week Tonight With John Oliver Season 1 Episodes On YouTube With Seasons 2-8 Coming Soon . May 27, 2024 . . en-US.
  25. Web site: 2017 . A Clear View . September 9, 2023 . . en . March 4, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210304190850/https://www.emmys.com/awards/honors/tenth/honoree2 . live .
  26. Web site: Pedersen . Erik . February 19, 2017 . WGA Awards: Moonlight & Arrival Win Top Film Prizes; FX's Atlanta & The Americans Lead TV – Complete Winners List . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170221010626/http://deadline.com/2017/02/wga-awards-winners-list-live-blog-1201916660/ . February 21, 2017 . April 1, 2020 . Deadline Hollywood.
  27. News: Luckerson . Victor . January 20, 2015 . How the 'John Oliver Effect' Is Having a Real-Life Impact . . live . August 28, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150810231912/http://time.com/3674807/john-oliver-net-neutrality-civil-forfeiture-miss-america/ . August 10, 2015.
  28. News: Wolfers . Justin . March 2, 2016 . 'Donald Drumpf' Is Beating Rubio and Cruz for Second in Google Searches . . live . April 19, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303054348/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/upshot/donald-drumpf-is-beating-rubio-and-cruz-for-second-in-web-searches.html . March 3, 2016.
  29. Web site: Nelson . Libby . March 2, 2016 . Donald Trump's deep insecurity about his 'short fingers', explained . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303095049/http://www.vox.com/2016/3/2/11148356/donald-trump-short-fingers-small-hands-vulgarian . March 3, 2016 . March 3, 2016 . Vox.
  30. Web site: Kelly . Jon . March 7, 2016 . How Donald Trump Became 'The Short Fingered Vulgarian' . September 9, 2023 . . en-US . June 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230602191956/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/03/how-donald-trump-became-the-short-fingered-vulgarian . live .
  31. News: March 1, 2016 . Donald Trump denies knowing anything about people making fun of his 'small fingers' . . live . March 3, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160306061743/http://theweek.com/speedreads/609532/donald-trump-denies-knowing-anything-about-people-making-fun-small-finger . March 6, 2016.
  32. Web site: Bonazzo . John . March 9, 2016 . Wired Called Donald Trump 'Someone With Tiny Hands' in Several Articles . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160311083937/http://observer.com/2016/03/wired-called-donald-trump-someone-with-tiny-hands-in-several-articles/ . March 11, 2016 . March 12, 2016 . .
  33. Web site: June 6, 2016 . John Oliver on HBO uses RIP to Relieve nearly $15M in Medical Debt for 9,000 Americans . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230602192445/https://www.ripmedicaldebt.org/john-oliver-medical-debt/ . June 2, 2023 . September 9, 2023 . . en-US.
  34. Web site: Grant . Kelli . June 6, 2016 . John Oliver takes a $14M bite out of medical debt . September 10, 2023 . . en . June 28, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230628162145/https://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/06/john-oliver-takes-a-14m-bite-out-of-medical-debt.html . live .
  35. News: Rogers . Katie . June 6, 2016 . For His Latest Trick, John Oliver Forgives $15Million in Medical Debt . en-US . . September 10, 2023 . June 29, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230629021158/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/07/arts/television/for-his-latest-trick-john-oliver-forgives-15-million-in-medical-debt.html . live .
  36. Web site: Dockray . Heather . January 4, 2017 . Man who had his medical debt paid by John Oliver speaks out . September 10, 2023 . . en . March 28, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230328150209/https://mashable.com/article/man-debt-paid-john-oliver . live .

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