Entertainment

John Oliver's Best Digs at America and the UK

by Rachel Semigran

April 17, 2014

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

There have been a lot of shake-ups in late night television with Jay Leno finally retiring, Jimmy Fallon taking over the Tonight Show, Seth Meyers starting on Late Night, and Letterman announcing his retirement with the swift confirmation that Stephen Colber would be taking over The Late Show in 2015. And next Sunday, April 27, The Daily Show’s John Oliver will be added into the talk show tilt-a-whirl with his HBO series Last Week Tonight.

In his seven-year tenure at The Daily Show, Oliver developed his own trademark brand of dry, often eccentric British humor blended with the sarcastic pinnings of American satire. With the current British invasion happening on our screens (Sherlock, Downton Abbey, Benedict and Hiddleston fandoms), it’s no wonder that Oliver garnered such a following over the years.

Not only are Oliver’s sensibilities as a host a fusion of the two sides of the pond — so are some of his best digs. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Oliver took on New York City, where The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight are filmed. Oliver lovingly jabbed that New York is “8 million people [who] have made a bad choice,” and for as many times that he’s joked and prodded America, he’s given equal elbows to the ribs of his motherland.

In preparation for next Sunday’s big premiere, and what will surely be a wondrous concoction of transatlantic mockery, here are some of Oliver’s best takes on America and the United Kingdom.