Oliver's Silence on Skydance Merger
On Sunday night, John Oliver did not address the recent approval of David Ellison's $111 billion merger that formed Skydance Corp., a Hollywood giant encompassing Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery. The deal, which also involves Ellison's father Larry, is scheduled to close on Oct. 6. Despite expectations that Oliver might comment on the takeover of his parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, he focused his HBO show Last Week Tonight on a different topic: the Secret Service's protection of the U.S. president.[S1][S2]
Oliver's decision to avoid the merger news comes amid speculation about the future of his program. He and his team extended their contract to 2027 just before the merger was finalized, but uncertainty looms given Ellison's previous cancellation of Stephen Colbert's Late Show, which was reportedly influenced by political ally President Trump. The merger is expected to bring significant job cuts and a shift in CNN's editorial stance, similar to changes at CBS News under Ellison and Bari Weiss.[S1]
Secret Service Segment and Parody Ad
Instead of tackling the media consolidation, Oliver dedicated the main segment of Last Week Tonight to the history of Secret Service agents' protection of the U.S. president. The segment was pegged to multiple security breaches that nearly cost Trump his life, attributed to incompetence, insufficient resources, and a culture of doing more with less. The piece culminated in a parody advertisement for the Secret Service, featuring Adam DeVine and Anders Holm from Workaholics as bumbling agents. This creative approach echoed a past incident when the Department of Homeland Security hired filmmaker Michael Bay for a costly recruitment ad that aired during the Super Bowl.[S1]
