As Last Week Tonight prepares to launch its 13th season this weekend, John Oliver says the show will confront the fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
In a new interview with Ringer, Oliver reveals that his team began working on a story about the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good immediately after returning from the show’s winter hiatus. (The Season 12 finale aired November 16.)
“Sometimes it’s about the thing that’s happening right in front of you,” Oliver said, explaining how the shootings and their aftermath quickly became a priority for the show’s research and writing staff.
The incidents unfolded while Last Week Tonight was off the air in December and January. According to Oliver, that break only heightened the urgency his team felt to address the story once production resumed.
The decision reflects what Oliver describes as a broader shift in tone as the show enters its 13th season. In the interview, he characterizes the current political climate as “so much darker” than it was during Donald Trump’s first term, with public officials increasingly disputing or dismissing clear video evidence.
“If the technique they’re going to use… is to take something which seems clear on camera and through brute force deny that you’ve seen what you’ve seen, it feels like that requires a response,” Oliver said.
“All you can really hope to do,” he added, “is present people with good information with as much context as possible… and then see if you can move them.”
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver returns this Sunday, February 15, on HBO and HBO Max.
