Is Last Week Tonight with John Oliver new tonight, May 26? Sadly, if you were looking forward to John Oliver's hilarious takes on this week's most pressing political, social, and cultural issues, you'll have to wait a bit longer, as there won't be a new episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver airing on HBO tonight, Sunday, May 26.
However, a break from filming isn't out of the ordinary for the satirical late-night talk show. Last Week Tonight regularly takes breaks throughout its season, with the most latest iteration, season 11, kicking off on February 18. The most recent mini break for the Emmy-winning HBO series occurred just a few weeks ago, at the end of April, and given that this Sunday falls on a holiday weekend—Memorial Day Weekend, that is—it's not a shock that the powers that be would want to give Oliver and the writers a much-deserved rest from their busy schedule.
That means that the next brand-new episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver will air on HBO next Sunday, June 2, at its normal time of 11pm Eastern.
Oliver announced that Last Week Tonight would not air an original episode on May 26 after the end of the most recent episode on May 19, during which the comedian discussed "the financial and environmental impact of corn in the U.S., recent commencement ceremony mishaps, and the rise of the far-right AfD party in Germany."
However, just because there's no new episode tonight doesn't mean there's not fun content from Oliver and the team coming out today. After dropping the entirety of the show's first season for free on YouTube last month, Last Week Tonight is now inviting viewers to "refresh yourself on YouTube" with episodes from way back when, a.k.a. season two, starting today, May 26. So even though there's no episode tonight, at least it'll be fun walking down memory lane with John and Co.
To watch Last Week Tonight with John Oliver live each Sunday, you’ll need access to HBO—thankfully, the channel is available with most cable TV subscriptions. However, if you've cut the cord, you have watch live simulcasts of HBO channels via several live TV streaming service options, including Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream. You also have access to HBO programming through the network's streaming platform, Max.
