Last Week Tonight with John Oliver season 4
2017 television series season
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The fourth season of late-night talk and news satire television program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver originally aired between February 12 and November 12, 2017, on HBO in the United States. The season was produced by Avalon Television and Sixteen String Jack Productions; the executive producers were host John Oliver, Tim Carvell, and Liz Stanton, with Paul Pennolino as director. Last Week Tonight aired on Sundays at 11 pm, and had a total of 30 episodes. The season was generally well received, winning four Emmy Awards, one GLAAD Media Award, one TCA Award, and one WGA Award. The show continued to release the main stories of each broadcast on its YouTube channel after each episode aired.
Production
Season four aired from February 12 to November 12, 2017.[1][2] The season was produced by Avalon Television and Sixteen String Jack Productions;[3] it aired on HBO in the United States at 11 pm on Sundays.[4] Host John Oliver, Tim Carvell, and Liz Stanton were the executive producers on the season. Writers included Oliver, Carvell, Raquel D'Apice, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, Brian Parise, Scott Sherman, Ben Silva, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Seena Vali, and Juli Weiner. Paul Pennolino directed the season.[3]
Promotional material for the season showed Oliver on the sets of other popular HBO shows at the time like Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley.[1][5] Similar to the previous season, Oliver explained that coverage of the Trump presidency would remain minimal, as he expected other late-night shows to discuss immediate events.[6] He continued that the in-depth pieces they were preparing did not concern "party politics";[7] however, Oliver clarified that Last Week Tonight would cover issues influenced by the Trump administration.[8]
Reception
Critical reception
The fourth season garnered an approval rating of 100% based on 6 reviews on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.[9] Some critics described the show as necessary comic relief from the activities of the Trump administration, with Les Chappell writing in The A.V. Club, "Now that 2017 is proving to be just as bad ... we need Oliver's confusion and outrage to guide us more than ever."[10][11] Others also praised the season's continued quality and thorough coverage of current events.[11][12] Last Week Tonight was listed on Slant Magazine's list of the best shows of 2017.[13]
Ratings
Season four of Last Week Tonight received notably good ratings in Canada: the season premiere had twice as many viewers in Canada than the previous season's first episode, despite airing simultaneously with many nightly news channels. Val Maloney writing in Media in Canada attributes this ratings spike to Canada's interest in the Trump presidency.[14] In April 2024, HBO announced that the full episodes of seasons one through eight would be released on the Last Week Tonight YouTube channel.[15]
Awards
For season four, Last Week Tonight received a rare second Peabody Award for "crafting a form that pushes both comedy and journalism in new, fresh, and publicly important directions".[16] Last Week Tonight received nine Emmy nominations for season four, winning Outstanding Variety Talk Series, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series, Outstanding Interactive Program, and Outstanding Picture Editing For Variety Programming for "Border Patrol".[3] This season was the second in a row to receive the award for Outstanding Variety Talk Series, beating regular winners The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.[17] Additionally, the show received Outstanding Talk Show Episode at the GLAAD Media Awards for "Australia Marriage Equality",[18] the TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sketch/Variety Shows,[19] and the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Comedy-Variety Talk Series.[20]
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Main segment | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | 1 | February 12, 2017 | 1.19[21] | ||
| 91 | 2 | February 19, 2017 | 1.25[22] | ||
|
Guests: Singers and dancers Olivia Cipolla, Michaela Sprague, Nicole Medoro, Mishay Petronelli and Wesley Faucher | |||||
| 92 | 3 | Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) | February 26, 2017 | 0.72[23] | |
|
Other segment: Immigration policy of Donald Trump | |||||
| 93 | 4 | March 5, 2017 | 1.28[24] | ||
| 94 | 5 | March 12, 2017 | 1.12[25] | ||
|
Other segments: International Women's Day, Wikileaks' March 2017 CIA disclosures Guests: Actors Thomas Kopache, Rob Corddry | |||||
| 95 | 6 | March 19, 2017 | 1.03[26] | ||
|
Other segments: Trump Tower wiretapping allegations, La Paz traffic zebras | |||||
| 96 | 7 | April 2, 2017 | 1.18[27] | ||
|
Other segments: Trump Tower wiretapping allegations, United Kingdom invocation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, La Paz traffic zebras Guest: Actor and puppeteer Noel MacNeal | |||||
| 97 | 8 | April 9, 2017 | 1.15[28] | ||
|
Other segments: 2017 Shayrat missile strike, Bill O'Reilly sexual harassment lawsuits Guest: Actor Thomas Kopache | |||||
| 98 | 9 | April 16, 2017 | 1.18[29] | ||
| 99 | 10 | April 23, 2017 | 1.19[30] | ||
|
Other segments: 2017 North Korean missile tests, 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum Guest: Actor Gilbert Gottfried | |||||
| 100 | 11 | May 7, 2017 | 1.18[31] | ||
|
Main article: Net Neutrality II Other segments: Eight Mile Style v New Zealand National Party, American Health Care Act of 2017 | |||||
| 101 | 12 | May 14, 2017 | 1.36[32] | ||
|
Other segments: Dismissal of James Comey, Bill English | |||||
| 102 | 13 | May 21, 2017 | 1.42[33] | ||
|
Main article: Stupid Watergate Other segments: Donald Trump's disclosure of classified information to Russia, Comey memos, Transportation Security Administration Guests: Sesame Street penguins (performed by actors and puppeteers Pam Arciero, Tyler Bunch, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, and John Kennedy) | |||||
| 103 | 14 | June 4, 2017 | 1.22[34] | ||
|
Other segments: 2017 London Bridge attack, Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections | |||||
| 104 | 15 | June 11, 2017 | 1.24[35] | ||
| 105 | 16 | June 18, 2017 | 1.28[36] | ||
|
Other segment: American Health Care Act of 2017 | |||||
| 106 | 17 | June 25, 2017 | 1.31[38] | ||
| 107 | 18 | July 2, 2017 | 1.14[39] | ||
|
Other segments: Donald Trump's Twitter comments about Mika Brzezinski, Trump administration's travel ban, the Hall of Presidents wax museum in Gettysburg Guests: Actors Steve Schirripa, Campbell Scott, Anna Kendrick, Michael McKean, James Cromwell, and Laura Linney | |||||
| 108 | 19 | Alex Jones and InfoWars | July 30, 2017 | 1.76[40] | |
|
Other segments: Donald Trump administration's proposed transgender military ban, Anthony Scaramucci, Health Care Freedom Act of 2017 Guests: Actors Jack McBrayer, Gilbert Gottfried | |||||
| 109 | 20 | August 6, 2017 | 1.75[41] | ||
| 110 | 21 | August 13, 2017 | 1.93[42] | ||
| 111 | 22 | August 20, 2017 | 1.76[43] | ||
|
Other segments: Departure of Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's response to Charlottesville | |||||
| 112 | 23 | September 10, 2017 | 0.97[44] | ||
| 113 | 24 | September 24, 2017 | 1.25[45] | ||
|
Other segments: 2017 NFL U.S. national anthem protest, Tom Price and Steven Mnuchin private jet scandals | |||||
| 114 | 25 | October 1, 2017 | 1.27[46] | ||
|
Other segments: Trump administration's tax reform proposal, aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico Guests: Actors Josh Charles, Shannon Woodward, Josh Lucas, Samira Wiley, Robert John Burke | |||||
| 115 | 26 | October 8, 2017 | 1.30[47] | ||
|
Other segments: Trump's response to Hurricane Maria's impact on Puerto Rico, Trump's feud with Rex Tillerson, Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations Guest: TV host Stephen Colbert | |||||
| 116 | 27 | October 15, 2017 | 1.25[48] | ||
|
Other segments: Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations, United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action | |||||
| 117 | 28 | October 29, 2017 | 0.96[49] | ||
| 118 | 29 | November 5, 2017 | 1.01[50] | ||
|
Other segments: Mueller special counsel investigation, The Inspectors | |||||
| 119 | 30 | November 12, 2017 | 1.20[51] | ||
|
Guests: Actors Thomas Kopache, Jack McBrayer, Tom Hanks, actor and puppeteer Noel MacNeal, Sesame Street penguins (performed by actors and puppeteers Ryan Dillon, Frankie Cordero, Peter Linz and Carmen Osbahr) | |||||