John Oliver’s soap opera dreams have officially come true—and now, he’s taking his victory lap.
On Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, Oliver revisited the daytime detour that began on his HBO show back in March and ultimately led to guest roles on both General Hospital and Days of Our Lives. Now that both appearances have aired, Oliver told viewers it was time to recap what he dubbeded his “hot soap summer.”
“You may remember: Back in March, after discovering Stephen A. Smith has been a character on General Hospital for a decade, I offered myself to any soap opera that would have me,” Oliver said.
He reminded viewers that he had a few conditions: a ridiculous character name, a juicy storyline, and a slap.
Both soaps delivered.
Oliver first recapped his General Hospital appearance as Z, the mysterious head of the World Security Bureau, whose Port Charles debut came via helicopter and armed backup. “I got to act while sporting hair that looks like if L’Oréal sold a color called ‘Midlife Crisis Black,’” Oliver said.
He was especially pleased by the slap he received from Laura Wright’s Carly Spencer, after Z told her she would not be getting her daughter back. Oliver called the moment everything he wanted: “A slap, a dramatic close-up, and me doing a voice so wrong it’s genuinely embarrassing.”
Then came Days of Our Lives, where Oliver played Devlin St. John, Salem’s chief city water inspector. “Which, let’s be honest, is perfect casting,” Oliver said. “If you were to bottle my essence and sell it as cologne, it would be called ‘Chief City Water Inspector.’”
Oliver also clarified reports about Devlin’s wig, saying that while it was not something he brought “from home,” his team did provide it. “I’ve seen myself act,” he said. “I knew the hair was going to have to do 90% of the work.”
Days gave Oliver not only a slap from EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel), but the chance to slap him back. It also gave him three syringe attacks, a tasering, and, in his final scene, a cryogenic sendoff courtesy of Rita Lesley (Maggie Carney), who spared Devlin because of her crush on him.
After airing the clip of Devlin being tased, Oliver summed up the moment with one question: “Are you not entertained?”
Oliver thanked both soaps for playing along, noting that neither one actually killed him off.
“Meaning technically, I can always come back,” he said. “Though to be honest, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything anyway. It’s soap operas. No one ever really dies.”Watch Oliver recap his soap opera journey on Last Week Tonight at the top of this post.
Watch Oliver recap his General Hospital and Days of Our Lives roles in a clip from Sunday’s Last Week Tonight at the top of this post.
