HBO has signed John Oliver to star in a topical comedy series slated to launch in 2014, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. Presenting a satirical look at the week in news, politics and current events, the weekly show will debut on Sunday nights.
“We weren’t otherwise searching for another weekly talk show, 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,” said Lombardo. “We are extremely excited that John has agreed to make HBO his home.”
Oliver commented, “I’m incredibly excited to be joining HBO, especially as I presume 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. 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.”
Oliver is an Emmy and Writer’s Guild Award-winning writer and correspondent for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” joining the show in 2006. He first came to prominence as a cutting-edge political stand-up performer in the UK, with a string of TV appearances and sold-out solo shows at the Edinburgh Festival. Oliver won the Breakout Award at the Aspen Comedy Festival in 2007 and went on to write and star in the Comedy Central stand-up special “John Oliver: Terrifying Times,” followed by the series “John Oliver’s New York Stand Up Show,” which he has hosted for four seasons. With longtime collaborator Andy Zaltzman, Oliver co-writes and co-presents the popular weekly satirical podcast The Bugle, which currently receives more than 500,000 downloads a week. He also has a recurring role on the network comedy series “Community.”
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