‘I’d like a dramatic closeup’: John Oliver takes over daytime TV with delightfully wooden soap opera roles

Published 14 August 2026 · health

The late-night host’s recent stints on Days of Our Lives and General Hospital have brought viewers to a dwindling genre A man in a dark

The late-night host’s recent stints on Days of Our Lives and General Hospital have brought viewers to a dwindling genre A man in a dark suit steps down from a helicopter into the aftermath of a warehouse shootout. Flanked by machine gun-toting members of his tactical team, he stalks through the carnage.

Without breaking stride, he comes to a defeated fighter lying face down, reaching for a handgun, and shoots him at close range. The man stops in front of another fighter clinging to life, causing her to recoil in fear. “Everything’s gonna be OK,” John Oliver says, as the camera eases into focus for his closeup.

“I’m here to help.” For the past two months, US daytime television watchers have been reduced to double takes and stitches as the Last Week Tonight host has embarked on a summer side quest to become a soap opera star. It began with a three-episode arc on General Hospital with Oliver making his grand entrance as Z, head of the deep state-coded World Security Bureau.

And it continued this week with another three-episode arc on Days of Our Lives as Devlin St John, chief water inspector for the soap’s mythic town of Salem. Continue reading...

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