It’s finally happening! According to Deadline, HBO gave the green light to release the first season of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on YouTube in its entirety. HBO decided not to premiere a new episode today, Sunday, April 28; alternatively, the network unleashed all of season one to watch for free.
Deadline notes that a post on Friday from the Last Week Tonight X (formerly Twitter) account states, “There’s no new episode this week! But we still have current events. From 10 years ago. This Sunday we’ll be dropping all of season 1 for free on YouTube! Seasons 2-8 to come, whenever we don’t have a new episode. Trust us, some of this is still completely relevant. Some.”
The post accompanied a video with all the best moments from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’s first season.
Deadline also notes that some time ago, the show was available to stream on YouTube the next day. As previously reported, however, with its current season, HBO decided to set back its release on various social media platforms.
According to Deadline, John Oliver (Community) revealed the news in post on X in February, stating, “HBO has decided they’re going to wait until Thursday to post them to YouTube from now on. I hope they change their mind, but until then, you can see our piece about the Supreme Court on HBO, on MAX, and on YouTube in a few days.”
Additionally, HBO is looking to increase its viewership on Max by delaying the release of episodes on YouTube.
A spokesperson from the network explained to Deadline: “When Last Week Tonight with John Oliver premiered on HBO, the convenience of watching on Max did not exist, so YouTube allowed flexible viewing for the main story as well as promotional exposure. We are now delaying that availability and hope those fans choose to watch the entire show on Max.”