John Oliver won't back down

As he vies for still more Emmys, the Last Week Tonight host sounds off on his legal battles, his late night concerns and his 'zero tolerance for corporate interference'

- Lacey Rose

John Oliver may delight in BITING THE corporate hand that feeds him — “there’s no tastier hand,” he insists — but he is deeply grateful for his perch. With his pal Stephen Colbert’s Late Show recently cancelled amid financial losses to the tune of tens of millions a year and a pending multibillion-dollar merger at its parent company, Oliver’s Last Week Tonight finds itself ensconced in its premium cable/streaming corner at HBO, where it tackles complicated, often uncomfortable subjects such as immigration, policing and juvenile justice. Still, Oliver is adamant that it’s the show’s bevy of awards — 30 Emmys and counting — that’s kept it on the air and without interference for 12 seasons. Come September, it will vie for six more, including outstanding scripted variety series. Zooming from Last Week Tonight’s Manhattan offices in late July, Oliver weighed in on his battles with legal, his concerns for late night and his desired level of anxiety.

Last Week Tonight segments come together in six weeks. When in that timeline does the comedy get layered in?
Really late. The jokes used to come in earlier, but you don't want to start writing before a story is stable because then you'll fall in love with jokes that are built on material that doesn't stand up, and that's a terrible position to put comedy writers in. So, it's only in the last two weeks that the jokes come in. But in that first month, you're trying to give people ingredients that they'll be able to create comedy from. You want it to be like an episode of Chopped, where it's not impossible to make something palatable at the end. So, you're not giving them broken glass and weed killer. You'll give them eggs.

When was the last time a Last Week segment made you genuinely anxious?