PARTING SHOT
Illustration by BRITT SPENCER
“OFTEN WHAT THE WRITERS ARE GETTING PRESENTED WITH, IT’S NOT JUST not funny; sometimes, it’s kryptonite to the concept of laughter,” John Oliver says of creating his Emmy-winning HBO series Last Week Tonight, now in its sixth season. “But [the writers] do it! It takes a broad, intense set of skills.” The show’s deft balance of comedy and journalism has made an art of turning boring topics (net neutrality laws!) into viral phenomena. And that’s thanks in no small part to the host’s sputtering, ribald delivery, suggestive of a man in a burning room: Hey, it looks hopeless, but I have this glass of water! With the scathing takedowns has come real-world impact: Oliver’s monologue on unfair bail requirements had New York City’s mayor announcing a month later that requirements for nonviolent offenders would be relaxed. The most challenging topic to date: cryptocurrencies. “For any jokes to make sense, we had to first give viewers a base-level understanding. It was a massive, all-hands effort,” says Oliver, who concedes he was an expert for “about 72 hours. I’m pretty sure I don’t fully understand it again.”