The big news story this week was about Skydance Corp., the new Hollywood mega-corporation created by David Ellison, comprising Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, which Ellison (and his father Larry) acquired in a $111 billion merger with added debt that is officially scheduled to close on October 6. similar to Ellison and Bari Weiss’ CBS News makeover.
It may also mean that John Oliver and “Last Week Tonight” are operating on borrowed time.
Oliver and his “Last Week Tonight” team extended their contact to 2027 just before the merger was finalized, but given the way Ellison ended Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” — presumably at the behest of his political ally, President Trump — who knows if Oliver and co. will reach the end of the matter.
And so, on Sunday night, all eyes were on HBO, Oliver and “Last Week Tonight” to see if he would address Ellison gobbling up his parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. After all, Oliver has made fun of the Ellisons on the show in the past. The show’s main story covered the story of Secret Service agents’ protection of the US president, linked to the myriad security failures that nearly cost Trump his life due to a mix of incompetence, lack of resources and a culture of “doing more with less”. Since the Department of Homeland Security hired Hollywood filmmaker Michael Bay to shoot an expensive recruiting commercial that aired during the Super Bowl, Oliver’s Secret Service segment culminated with a parody Secret Service commercial starring Adam DeVine and Anders Holm of “Workaholics” as incompetent agents.
However, Oliver chose not to respond to the announcement of the approval of the Warner Bros. takeover. Discovery by Ellison or its name change to Skydance Corp.
Maybe next week?
Gn entert
