John Oliver does have a “hot take” on his home network’s decision to rebrand Max back into HBO Max — but he wants the head honchos at Warner Bros. Discovery to know that was his choice.
As Last Week Tonight addressed president Donald Trump‘s antagonistic relationship with the press, he pointed to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s justification for banning the Associated Press from the Oval Office for its editorial decision to keep referring to the Gulf of Mexico as such rather than its renamed “Gulf of America.”
“It’s not as simple as you’re making it out there,” he began, “especially because it can take time for people to adjust to a stupid name change, sometimes, hypothetically, before we could even get used to one dumb name [here the screen flashed a logo of HBO Go], some genius comes along and only makes it dumber [the graphic then replaced HBO Go with HBO Now], then somehow it gets dumber still [a switch to HBO Max], and then against all the odds, somehow it becomes even worse [Max], before inexplicably going back to the stupid thing it was before [HBO Max].”
He continued, referencing Deadline’s own article, which featured streaming marketing chief Shauna Spenley saying the parent company “cannot wait” for what Oliver will say about the matter, saying, “Please look me in the eyes when I say this: F— you, don’t tell me what to do. I’m not going to do it if you want it, unless — wait, hold on — maybe you thought baiting me like that would be a good way to stop me from doing it, but on the other hand, how could a company be that smart when they’re the same people that came up with so many stupid f—ing names?”
Oliver is, of course, not the only person to poke fun at the bewildering flip-flop. HBO’s own social media channels had a posting spree earlier this week in which they used current events, memes and WBD’s vast library to craft reactions to the decision. One such post featured a photo of all the title iterations alongside a much-circulated snapshot of Euphoria‘s Alexa Demie’s line, “Bitch, you better be joking.”
Elsewhere, the host played a clip of a reporter from ABC News getting harangued for asking what Trump would say to those who think Qatar’s $400 million plane is a personal gift he should not accept. In dodging the question, Trump said the journalist should be “embarrassed” and that “ABC Fake News” is a “disaster.”
“That is pretty hostile,” the political comic quipped, “though I actually agree ABC should be embarrassed, just not for that entirely legitimate question, but for the fact that, as of taping, they still haven’t renewed Doctor Odyssey for Season 2.”
He continued, “What the f— are you doing ABC? It’s sexy ER on a boat. It’s The Pitt with sharks. It’s got — and I’m not even gonna try and beat their tagline on this — ‘big deck energy.’ In its pilot episode alone, it featured a water slide injury, someone overdosing on shrimp and this,” playing a clip in which a passenger has a penile fracture.
“Are you not entertained?” he asked, referencing The Gladiator‘s iconic line. “How is ABC renewing shows called The Rookie and Will Trent, whose premise is apparently just ‘despite being dyslexic, he’s become a special agent in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’? What? But they haven’t renewed the only show brave enough to answer the question: ‘What if sick but boat?’ I shouldn’t complain about the other shows, I shouldn’t care that a show about a rookie is returning for its premise-defying eighth season, and I don’t begrudge any audience members for sticking around to find out if their favorite characters will or won’t Trent.”
He concluded in his playful diatribe, “You’re a disgrace ABC, your network is a disaster.”
As Oliver noted, Ryan Murphy’s new sexy maritime drama has remained on the bubble for quite a while, with Disney Television Group president Craig Erwich telling Deadline recently that the status of the Joshua Jackson and Don Johnson-run cruise show has not changed
“Doctor Odyssey isn’t currently on our schedule,” he said. “Ryan’s really busy. He’s doing a lot with us. 9-1-1, 9-1-1 Nashville, All’s Fair [for Hulu]. So we’re just continuing that creative conversations with him.”
Last Thursday, Season 1 wrapped on an upbeat note that sources indicated could serve as a series finale amid uncertain waters. The decision to renew or cancel will likely be made before the end of June when the options on the cast are set to expire.
