Oliver's initial contract with HBO was for two years with an option for extension. Oliver described his preparations for the show in an interview for The Wire : " I basically have to watch everything. The only thing I kind of watch for pleasure is Fareed Zakaria's show on Sundays That and 60 Minutes I watch for pleasure, or maybe Frontline I'm watching with a certain thing in mind and that is how to see a story told badly.
If something happens on a Monday, realistically all the meat is going to be picked off that bone by the time it gets to us β there's probably barely a point in doing it I think we'll be attracted to some extent by stories that are off the grid Our show may end up skewing more international in terms of stories. Tim Carvell , executive producer of Last Week Tonight , explained in an interview how the cast and crew deal with a half hour of Oliver speaking without any commercial breaks.
Structural considerations are leading to changes in the content in the show that will inherently make it different from The Daily Show We realized early on, you don't necessarily want to hear anybody talk to you for a half an hour straight β even John, who is very charming β so we are constructing these little, produced comedy elements that will serve the function of commercial breaks throughout the show, which will let us get out of the studio, get us away from John's voice and break the show up a bit.
Carvell also revealed that HBO gave them freedom in choosing guests for the show, advising them not to feel obligated to feature celebrities. While filming from his home, Oliver had the background replaced with a textured bluish background. He eventually personified the background, calling it "The Void" and adding to the background cartoon eyes and a mouth. Oliver would occasionally interact with "The Void", with H. Jon Benjamin voicing "The Void".
Unlike The Daily Show , which followed recent news, Oliver tends to explore one concept in depth. The show is taped in front of a studio audience , and HBO offers a limited number of free tickets to attend each week's Last Week Tonight taping. The show's theme starts off every episode containing images relating to the world at large with satirical captions written in dog Latin e.
