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John Oliver of 'The Daily Show' moves to HBO with 'Last Week Tonight'

John Oliver's new program debuts on April 27.

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Carlo Allegri/Reuters
John Oliver's new show 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver' will debut on April 27.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

Fans of “The Daily Show” correspondent John Oliver don’t have to worry – he’ll still be offering a humorous take on the news, he’ll just be doing it on a different channel.

Oliver’s program “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” a weekly show in which he will look back at the news of the last several days and which will air on Sundays, is set to premiere on HBO on April 27. Oliver is coming off a seven-year stint as a correspondent on the Comedy Central program “The Daily Show,” which features host Jon Stewart and others poking fun at current events. 

Stewart was absent for the show during this past summer while he directed his upcoming film “Rosewater” and Oliver stepped in as host. That fall, it was announced that Oliver would head up his own show on HBO.

“We weren’t otherwise searching for another weekly talk show,” HBO programming president Michael Lombardo said in a statement when the news was announced. “But when we saw John Oliver handling host duties on The Daily Show, we knew that his singular perspective and distinct voice belonged on HBO.”

Oliver said in a statement that one cause of his excitement over his new job was that he “presume[d] this means I get free HBO now.” 

“I want to thank Comedy Central, and everyone at The Daily Show for the best seven and a half years of my life,” he said. “But most of all, I’d like to thank Jon Stewart. He taught me everything I know. In fact, if I fail in the future, it’s entirely his fault.”

A recent promo for “Last” poked fun at the fact that the show will be airing weekly in our live-tweeting age.

“We live in turbulent times,” the voiceover for the ad says. “You need a show that moves at the speed of news. A show whose schedule reflects our fast-paced world.” 

“A show that airs once a week, on Sunday nights at 11,” Oliver adds.

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