Report: John Oliver Drops Agents Over Last Week Tonight Deal

John Oliver is reportedly parting ways with his longtime agency WME following his latest contract renewal with HBO.

HBO agreed to renew Last Week Tonight back in December, ordering three more seasons to keep the program on the air through 2026. However, according to a new report from Puck’s Matthew Belloni, Oliver is said to have been unhappy that the new deal lacked any sort of pay bump.

Oliver’s previous contract, signed in 2020, earned him approximately $30 million—roughly $1 million per episode for each 30-episode season. (Last year’s tenth season was an abbreviated 21 episodes due to the WGA strike.)

Three sources confirmed to Puck that the host’s new three-year deal amounted to “about the same salary or even a slight reduction, depending on how you look at it.” Oliver reportedly felt he deserved more and decided to part ways with WME.

Last Week Tonight continues to be a boon for HBO, generating conversation with its weekly deep dives into everything from public libraries to Red Lobster, performing admirably on YouTube, and consistently bringing home Emmy and Peabody Awards for the network. The show, which premiered in April 2014, began its eleventh season in February.

Still, as Belloni writes, there has been “an overall contraction in TV,” as well as “fiscal restraints at HBO parent Warner Bros. Discovery.” Even without a pay increase, Oliver remains one of TV’s top-paid personalities.

Oliver first signed with WME in 2012, when he was a correspondent on The Daily Show.

27 Comments

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  1. Ray says:

    This man deserves every single penny he gets. After multiple award winning seasons, I can’t say I disagree with him. The best show out there.

    1. DD says:

      One MILLION DOLLARS PER EPISODE is not enough, huh? Unbelievable. I bet the crew won’t be getting any raises. The camera operators, the lighting techs… This is what’s wrong with the Hollywood/Entertainment industry. These “actors” make so much money, and it’s still never enough. The costs have to come from somewhere, and it definitely will not come out of the producers’ pockets. I’ll probably stop watching.

      1. Shawn says:

        this.

      2. Kevin says:

        considering they gave that sort of money to the cast of f***k oops I meant friends when they were no longer funny Oliver deserves twice that

  2. Cecil Boyce says:

    He deserves a raise he is MUST SEE TV
    Love the SHOW 👍🏽👏🏽

  3. Frances Cutri says:

    give John a raise. His shows are awesome. so much great information from his stories

    1. Kevin New says:

      I 2nd that

  4. Paul A Zab says:

    thanks for all your work! Hopefully you can help others with a production deal. My favorite episode was the open offer of a new Prevost motorcoach to justice Thomas to resign. Putting your money where your beliefs are is a fast fading thing in life.

    1. Maddy Perez says:

      That was an amazing episode! One of his best for sure.

  5. Maddy Perez says:

    So, let me start by saying that I adore John Oliver. He is a goddamn national treasure. That being said…I find myself having a hard time feeling bad for him not getting a pay increase when he’s pulling down 30 million a season. I mean, that’s a ridiculous amount of money already. I’m pretty sure he’s not having any trouble making ends meet lol.

    1. Jamie says:

      He definitely doesn’t have trouble making ends meet, but neither does HBO, who should probably pay everyone more

    2. Me says:

      What’s the proper number then? How much should a person make?

  6. Donald says:

    He didn’t have to agree to the deal of he didn’t like it. He’s not a slave. If he wanted more money he tells his reps, and they go and get it. If HBO says no, he plays hardball until they cave.

    1. Nat says:

      Not quite how that works in the industry bud…

      1. Your mother says:

        No one is your “bud.” Continue sucking Johnnys dick.

  7. Lily says:

    I love John Oliver. He makes me laugh.

    John, how much is enough to live on?

  8. TonightLastWeek says:

    does that include his staff? like he takes the 30m and has to pay his own people or their salaries are separate from his 30m?

    1. Philip says:

      I wrote about his bias / hate towards israel. I see it’s not published

  9. Philip says:

    but he is so biased / narrow minded hatred against Israel. I don’t think he has ever referred to the barbarism of Hamas on Oct. 7 and there statement they will continue doing Oct.7 until all the Jews are killed. His recognition of this would help put a fair
    perspective

    1. Daniel Patrick Moyer says:

      just a couple of questions.

      why is Israel the number one recipient of US foreign aid in the world?

      what does the country of Israel produce?

    2. Daniel Patrick Moyer says:

      just a couple of questions.

      why is Israel the number one recipient of US foreign aid in the world?

      what does the country of Israel produce?

  10. Kevin New says:

    it’s amazing, the stuff that John unveils and shows us exactly what’s going on in real life, that we know nothing of.
    As a fellow Brit, who lives here now as well, I feel very proud of the stuff he unearths for us. I’m so pleased that so many people watch him

  11. Greg O says:

    Yes, give him a raise, but only if he skips the juvenile comedy bits that distract from his brilliant journalism.

  12. Amber says:

    He’s not exactly suffering from a cost of living crisis is he? poor puffin face 😕

  13. Will says:

    30 million a season and Johnny Boy is crying about not getting an increase in pay? 🙄

  14. Nancy Stewart says:

    You can’t pay him too much, he is worth every dime!

  15. Blue Moon says:

    I don’t think people realize that virtually all of your favorite political commentators make this kind of money, and people on the right tend to make more. Even many of your streamers and youtubers that present themselves as independent anti-mainstream underground amateur operation can make more.
    But the larger point is, this is not news, this is GOSSIP. Essentially tabloid trash without a SINGLE source, without a SINGLE name for actual journalists to verify. People are already interpreting it as “John Oliver throwing a tantrum” without any bases or quote. It’s clearly designed to enrage people, and sounds suspiciously like some kind of spiteful revenge for good reporting.
    John Oliver is not even in the middle of any negotiation – he just signed a 3 year contract last year, why would he be negotiating anything now? Besides, all the other sources cite that he makes 8 million a year (far less than people in comparable positions).
    But even if true (which it isn’t unless these spiteful gossip rags provide a single verifiable fact/source), remember that John Oliver spent six months of last year paying his entire staff and crew with his own money.

    btw, the original “reporting” comes from a Los Angeles celebrity life-style writer’s blog called “What I’m Hearing” – so judge for yourself