Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is taking a one-week break, but fans of the show won’t go home empty-handed.
Late Sunday October 19, 2024, HBO will upload the complete sixth season of Last Week Tonight to YouTube. The 30-episode season, which originally aired in 2019, premiered with the show’s 150th episode, which focused on the aftermath of Brexit.
Other topics covered in Season 6 included Robocalls, The WWE and Vince McMahon, Mueller Report, and the 2020 United States census, earning the show its fourth consecutive Primetimer Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show.
In an episode titled “SLAPP Suits,” Oliver revealed that coal magnate Bob Murray’s defamation lawsuit against the show for a Season 4 segment had cost HBO $200,000 in legal fees and quadrupled the show’s libel insurance fees (even though Murray ultimately dropped the meritless case). Oliver ended his Season 6 segment with a show-stopping musical number titled “Eat Sh*t, Bob.”
Guests and cameos in Last Week Tonight’s sixth season included Hugh Bonneville, Seth Meyers, David Schwimmer, Method Man, Jimmy Kimmel, RuPaul, Michael Bolton, Kristen Bell, Kiefer Sutherland, Wanda Sykes, Larry David, Glenn Close, Tracy Morgan. Bill Nye, Michael Keaton, Bryan Cranston, Michael K. Williams, Richard Kind, Rachel Dratch and Monica Lewinsky.
“We really found our groove in season six,” states the title card of a trailer posted to the show’s social accounts yesterday.
Safety glasses off! Season 6 is coming to YouTube this Sunday, 10/20 at 11pm ET. pic.twitter.com/WuFwbC82t6
— Last Week Tonight (@LastWeekTonight) October 18, 2024
Since April, LWT has uploaded a full past season to YouTube each time the show takes a break.
The initiative to resurface its back catalogue followed a contentious decision by HBO to delay posting each new episode’s main topic to YouTube from Mondays to Thursdays. The move was made to drive subscriptions to Max. (New episodes have continued to be uploaded day and date in foreign territories not covered by Max or other licensors of the show.)
Last Week Tonight is currently in its 11th season. Oliver and team are set to return with the second of three episodes focused on the upcoming election next Sunday, October 27th, 2024.